Fred Karger, as readers know, has been entirely shut out from the 2012 debate process owing to his low standing in the polls (which might improve if he was allowed to join the debate, tra-la: Catch-22!). This means his campaign has largely been a retail effort in New Hampshire, with the occasional fundraising stop anywhere he can generate some interest. His only opportunity to interact, in some way, with the other 2012 candidates has been to criticize them or spoof them in his advertisements.
In previous efforts, Karger has, through the magic of YouTube cinematography, digitally inserted himself into the debates in which he's been denied the chance to participate. But after Rick Perry released his "Strong" ad, in which he complained that gays could serve openly in the military but children could not "openly celebrate Christmas," it was only a matter of time before Karger -- the only openly gay candidate in the presidential fray, running on a pro-marriage equality and general "optimism" platform -- responded. And this he has done, in an ad that recreates Perry's original.
KARGER: I'm Rick Perry. And I admit that I'm, uhh...I'm ashamed about makin' that ad about gays in the military and all. I guess I was just desperate because I was so low in the polls. Now my video is the most disliked video in YouTube history. I guess hate weakens America, and I want America to be...STRONG! [breaks character] I guess Rick Perry might not approve of this message, but I do. I'm Fred Karger.
A quick factcheck: Rick Perry's video, while widely disliked (with 20,041 likes and 643,367 dislikes as of this writing), is not the most "disliked video in YouTube history." This is an error that we at the Huffington Post inadvertently contributed to, so we'll take responsibility for the disinformation on Karger's behalf. (Here's our correction. For more on the history of disliked YouTube videos, please see Mike Barthel of the Village Voice.)