Perry will do until we find someone better. I suspect if it were pointed out to him in a factual way, he would be on board with electing the new SOB. So far, that perfect candidate just hasn’t happened.
Pray for some rain in Texas cause you know the Beltway crowd wouldn’t give them the sweat off their federal...
Thus far, I haven't heard any deal-breakers from Perry. He's squishy on illegal immigration, but that may be more about tactics; favoring job site enforcement over physical border security. (Which is a big mistake on Perry's part, by the way. A border fence is about more than job-seeking Mexican nationals. It's about those categorized as "Other than Mexican" by ICE.)
Perry's right on what the State can do to create a job-friendly environment. He's so right that Democrats in Sacramento are howling about how Texas is "stealing" jobs from California.
He's right about gun control: A two handed grip really is a good idea. : )
And an intangible that Perry has on his side is that all the right people within the GOP establishment are pissed at him.
If someone comes along who can improve on Perry (i.e. understands the importance of a border fence and other border defenses, but isn't single-issue nutty on the matter), then I'll kick Perry to the curb. Until then, let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.