I’ve seen Perry many times in person down here and he is funnier and far more personable than he has come across lately. IMHO, either he is still on a lot of pain meds for his back, he is being poorly coached, or age caught up to him quickly (or he really doesn’t want to run, he was talked into it- I actually didn’t think he would when people were speculating..)
Look up some videos of him speaking to early Tea Party events.
I was at a fundraiser for him for his second run for governor at a friend’s ranch and he had the place rolling at dinner. It was all off-the-cuff too, mostly jokes about hunting because we all went shooting that afternoon as part of the event.
Well, given my background I’m probably not going to be rolling in the aisles over hunting jokes.
I’ve always thought he seemed a reluctant candidate. Of course, I also didn’t know who he was until August!