Bizarre Video Montage of Perry Speech Has Critics Wondering: Was He Drunk?

Critics are abuzz after Texas Gov. Rick Perry gave a curious -- some say bizarre -- speech in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday night.

In an address that the Huffington Post called "unusually expressive," the governor surprised many of his audience members.

Perry, who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, was speaking at Cornerstone Action's Annual Fundraising Dinner.*

Following the speech, a YouTuber with the username CharlieJohnson1986 spliced together some of the strangest portions of the 25-minute speech to create a montage of odd moments. Most agree, though, that the video was made to make Perry look bad.

Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas told HuffPo that the speech "was different," but didn't comment beyond that. According to Business Insider's Zeke Miller, "One Republican operative who watched the video called it 'strange and peculiar,' and said it could prove fatal to Perry's campaign like [Howard] Dean's 2004 scream, and another questioned whether he was on any medication."

Dean's infamous scream was replayed countless times on CNN, among other outlets, and was widely regarded as one of the nails that closed and sealed the prospects on his 2004 presidential bid. If the results are similar for Perry, his 2012 prospects will be dashed. Still, there's no telling whether this video will have such a profound impact on his campaign.

Gawker's Matt Read quipped about Perry's sobriety, writing:

Now, we're not saying that he's definitely drunk, we're just saying, watch the whole thing. Or, if you don't have time, skip ahead to around 2:20, because that's where it starts getting really drunk. I mean, good. Really good.

Time Magazine's "The Page" published the video under, "Rick Perry Unplugged and Loose." And the Examiner has a headline that reads, "Rick Perry Appears Drunk During Speech in New Hampshire." On "Morning Joe," Joe Scarborough tackled this issue as well.

Watch below to see his take on the matter:

When asked for a comment, Perry spokesperson Mark Miner sent an e-mail to HuffPo, saying, "The Governor is passionate about the issues he talks about."

Watch the controversial video, below:

Also, you can see the full 25 minutes, so that you can judge Perry's performance for yourself:

*Cornerstone describes itself as a "...non-partisan, non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving New Hampshire’s traditional values, limited government, and free markets through education, information, and advocacy."