I agree. He was too quick out of the shoot after his back surgery. No way I could endure the campaign trail with that weighing on me physically. Go home. Get some rest. Consider a VP spot.
I agree with you, unfortunately illness can not be an excuse in a run for President. Kennedy ran with a back ailment that would have sidelined an average human, yet we didn’t know about it until he was dead.
Entering a presidential race so soon after surgery harmed Perry. Same thing happened to Pete Wilson, former Senator and Governor of California. He’d had throat surgery when he entered the race, and despite his background/resume, his campaign never got off the ground.
Rick Perry was on the radio this afternoon - with Sean Hannity, I think. He was really doing well, answering every question in detail; smart, witty, forceful, and quick.
That was the version of Rick Perry missing at the debates. If that Rick Perry had shown up, he wouldn't have finished where he did and he would have sustained his early jump in the polls.
The lesson should be that it is much more difficult than it looks, and that if anything sidelines a candidate - illness, inexperience, anything; it can become impossible to come back.
I hope he learns from this, gets healthy if he needs to work on that aspect of his life, and comes back in four years.