He peaked in 2012 because he wasn't Romney and wasn't Gingrich. It is unfair to call him a Roman Catholic version of Huckabee, because he has a lot more substance to him. But I'm afraid that's how he is perceived.
I agree on your summation of Rick Perry. He was not a bad governor. But when he made the statement “if you refuse to subsidize college tuition for illegals, you have no heart”, it started his downfall. Then during the 2012 debates, he could not remember the 2 departments in federal bureaucracy he wanted to dismantle. His best days are behind him.
Why do people like Perry & Santorum never give up gracefully? Is it the ego or is it hope of writing a new book?