No booze for Perry at NH speech, says host

There's a video crawling all over the internet of a very animated (not for lack of a better word) Rick Perrydelivering a speech in New Hampshire last weekend. In the video, Perry dazzles his audiences as a true showman with awkward jokes and jazzy fingers.

It's led some to wonder whether he was possibly drunk or sucking back on grandpa's cough medicine. We can rule out the former, according to Kevin Smith who hosted the event Perry was speaking at.

"I can tell you unequivocally he wasn’t drinking at the event and he hadn’t been drinking prior to the event," Smith told The Hill.

If you watch clips from the speech (below), it's obvious Perry is a little different. A little sassier. But it's worth noting that the Texas governor spent part of the summer recovering from back surgery. He wore a back brace. He was even spotted wearing those ugly orthopedic shoes instead of boots. So, we can't necessarily rule out prescribed painkillers. But I never do.

Then again, maybe he's getting funkier at the advisement of his campaign. Thus far, Perry's campaign has dismissed any odd perceptions of the speech, saying it was simply "passionate."

Smith says pretty much the same. "He was loose and passionate. He got a great reaction from the audience."