Posted on 03/14/2014 8:38:07 AM PDT by Kenny
If Rick Perry were to seek a quieter life after leaving office next January, none of his longtime aides and admirers would blame him.
Already a grandfather, the longest-serving governor in Texas history will by then have capped off three full decades in public office and will be just a couple of months shy of his 65th birthday.
There are weekend tailgates at Aggies games and hunting trips to attend, there’s big-time money to be made in a cushy private-sector job, and an opportunity to kick up his boots a little for the first time in his adult life.
But as the end of Perry’s 14-year tenure in the governor’s mansion draws closer, it is becoming increasingly apparent that he is instead inclined to go out with a bang -- and give a run for president one more shot.
Perry has barnstormed Iowa and South Carolina in recent months and has more trips to early-voting states planned for the rest of the year. <snip>
The Kimmel interview was a case in point. Upon taking the stage, he appeared entirely unfazed by the loud boos that rained down upon him from the left-leaning crowd. And throughout the interview, he was characteristically charming, as he transitioned from a well-received joke about the self-healing practices of Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson to making a serious point about his efforts to reform drug-sentencing laws in Texas.
By the time he shook hands with Kimmel at the end of the segment, the crowd’s boos had shifted entirely to cheers. There may have been precious few Perry supporters in that crowd, but they couldn’t help but like the guy sitting in front of them, who hadn’t come across the way they’d expected.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
This is like Quayle and potato. Hope we can look at the candidate this time and not his '"oops" moment. He's passionate about smaller government and the 2nd Amendment and has a fiscal record that can't be beat. Go ahead, flame away.
Neither is likely to win, though either would be a vast improvement on what we have now.
FR has gotten into the habit of demeaning every available candidate. When will it stop.
No candidate can be all things nor will they be in agreement on all things. I think Perry is the best of the best despite any differences we may have.
The difference was that Quayle was handed a card with that spelling to use as the official answer, and that potatoe is an alternative spelling.
Basically, all the candidates have the same stand on immigration. And don’t forget that the Federal Government says “by law” we are to provide an education to illegals from kindergarten to grade 12.
Scott Walker looks pretty good to me…I like Ted Cruz but maybe he could lead the senate…Senators usually fail as presidents..Sarah at EPA…We need conservatives heading the departments and cutting them down to size.
I think its time for an election without past candidates.
I agree. If you listen to some FReepers, every candidate is horrible.
We have to remember that they are all 1000% better than the Current Occupant of the White House, and they deserve some respect for considering putting their hat in the ring in the interest of serving the American people.
I like Paul Ryan, Rubio, Perry, Santorum, etc., a heckuva lot better than the Democratic alternative.
GARDASIL
How many more reasons do we need to reject Perry?
/s
The big money donors that helped Perry raise that eye-popping $17,000,000 in the third quarter in 2011 are not going to flush their money down this particular commode again. Sorry, but Perry had his chance, and he embarrassed himself.
The media lied. It was not mandatory and Perry based his decision on medical advice.
Same here. No invasion supporters.
I think its time for an election without past candidates.
And yet they killed him, destroyed his career. Perry had a brain fart, something we all do at one time or another just in front of the whole country. I seriously do not think that moment should define the man forever.
It might be helpful to Perry and others if we didn't have a bunch of communists moderating the debates as well. They absolutely cheated with O and the Benghazi question when Candy 'just happened' to have the transcript from the Rose Garden with her.
Can't we look at the candidate, their beliefs, and their records instead of a single 'gotcha' on tv?
Two words: franchise tax. No thanks.
You don't get a second chance to make a good impression.
Right or wrong, in 2012 the whole nation outside of Texas got a first impression of Rick Perry as the white-male version of Sheila Jackson Lee, only less articulate.
Not, repeat not, possible.
Look, I like Ted Cruz, but so far in his national career he has made speeches, not decisions like Perry. Walker and Jindal have had to. It's a lot easier to take potshots at a governing record than it is at the pages of the Congressional Record.
No thanks?
Not even if you knew Gov. Perry rolled back 1.6 billion dollars in franchise tax cuts?
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/04/15/perry-calls-16-billion-business-tax-cuts/
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