Texas governor wins standing ovation at Washington conference with forceful pitches on jobs and America's place in the world. Texas governor Rick Perry won several standing ovations at a conservative conference in Washington on Friday that marked the start of a fightback in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Perry needed a good reaction after seeing his poll ratings drop sharply after poor debate performances last month. He and the other Republican presidential candidates are speaking at the annual conference of the Family Research Council, which promotes traditional marriage. A straw poll of the candidates is being conducted, with...