Apparently I nailed it...
According to the Washington Examiner’s Byron York, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who will present candidates with questions at the event, called Perry’s change of plans “a big disappointment to me.”
ABC News reports that the Texas governor still intends to participate in Wednesday’s presidential debate in California.
UPDATE: DeMint tells ABC News of Perry’s last-minute change of plans, “He has to make his own decision, but certainly we are disappointed.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/05/rick-perry-palmetto-freedom-forum_n_949164.html
BUT, the fires were not so bad that...
” Rick Perry misses GOP forum, but speaks to South Carolina voters elsewhere. “
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/05/2392083/rick-perry-misses-gop-forum-but.html#ixzz1X8M8DKZ7
Looks like Gov. Perry just did not want to play hardball and stuck to the softballs.
Here in Texas we have seen all this before with him. It’s not a big deal to us, we are used to it.
It’s gonna be a real disapointment to a lot of people when find out WHY folks say things like “finger in the wind” about him.
The town hall meeting was in the morning, the Palmetto forum was at 3 PM, EST.
I was disappointed, too. But I don’t think he could stay in SC when the fires were expected to build in the afternoon.
See this map for the fires http://bit.ly/pshY9V and for the smoke plumes. Click the smoke application and zoom out to see the fires all over Texas.