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How To REALLY Not Win Over Iowa Voters: Call Them “Buckeyes”

Yesterday, we mentioned how Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann’s strategy of wearing a half-Iowa-half-Iowa-State football jersey to a tailgate earlier this season probably wasn’t the best strategy to win over potential voters. Well, we still think it was ill-advised, but it was way more helpful than what Sheriff Joe Arpaio did for candidate Rick Perry the other day.

Arpaio (“America’s Toughest Sheriff,” according to himself) is a controversial Arizona sheriff best known for being especially vocal in speaking out against illegal immigration. That’s why he backed Perry: he believes he’s the best choice to secure the U.S./Mexico border. In order to spread the word, he recently spoke to a crowd in Iowa urging them to pick Perry in the upcoming caucuses. Unfortunately, as Arpaio makes all too clear starting at the 1:03 mark below, he’s not a big expert on Iowa – or University of Iowa athletics (video via SPORTSbyBROOKS):

Oh, that hurts. While Bachmann’s jersey was a copout, at least it actually was a half-Iowa, half-Iowa State jersey. Imagine if she’d shown up in Ohio State gear. And then, Arpaio compounds his error with, “Hawkeye, Buckeye, what’s the difference?” The difference? How about a CENTURY OF BIG TEN TRADITION, SHERIFF?!?!?!

OK, fine, there was some laughing in the crowd and it seems like the booing was light-hearted. Plus, Arpaio isn’t the actual candidate, so this could have been worse. Still, Perry couldn’t have been too happy when he heard “Buckeyes” come out of Arpaio’s mouth. To borrow a turn of phrase from the man the he was trying to endorse, the sheriff stepped in it out there.