The big buzz over the "R" word has hit the Texas governor's race.
It comes as Gov. Rick Perry’s top campaign adviser is in the cross hairs with former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin coming to campaign with Perry this Sunday.
Perry appeared elated January 20 when Palin announced she join him for a rally in Houston. "Let me tell you something: I want Sarah Palin in Texas campaigning for me,” Perry said at the time.
But the elation has turned into concern — at least for the moment — because of the use of the word "retarded" that Palin and many Texans find objectionable.
Palin's youngest son, Trig, has Down Syndrome. She called on the White House Monday to fire President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for using the word in a derogatory way during a closed strategy session on health care.
But the campaign of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who opposes Perry in the Republican primary, claims Perry's top political consultant, Dave Carney, used “retarded,” too.
The Hutchison campaign said Carney uttered the word several times in a conference call to describe some of the arrangements he didn't like for last month's gubernatorial debate broadcast by KERA.
The Perry campaign confirmed it with a spokesman stating: "It was an unfortunate choice of words, and the governor is extremely disappointed."
But not so disappointed that the governor asked Carney to quit. And Palin — who wants Emanuel fired — wants Carney to stay.
A Palin spokeswoman told CNN that Carney's use of the word was "disrespectful," but she stopped short of demanding that he be fired.
The campaign of Debra Medina, who's also running for governor as a Republican, says that conference call was confidential and will keep it so.
But the Hutchison campaign told the Houston Chronicle it was never told the call was supposed to be confidential.
E-mail bwatson@wfaa.com
