Texas also knows that Rick Perry the officeholder is not at the same level as Rick Perry the candidate.
In nearly 11 years as governor, he has not been known for his problem-solving or innovation. Perry has instead established himself as a power governor who doesn't like to be crossed, and many Texans are far more familiar with what he is against (like "Washington") than what he is for.
Now the nation is getting an eyeful of what Perry does best - compete - with his entry into the GOP contest for president.
The stakes today are not only higher for him, but for the nation. That calls for Perry to do what hasn't come naturally for him. The times call for solutions, not catchphrases or lines in the sand.
This nation has been unnerved by uncertainty over debt and a massive loss of jobs. People are hurting, their life savings bled away.
The answer is not merely asking the public to be in awe of the Texas low-tax, low-regulation model and live within our means as a nation. Yes, we balance our books here in Texas. The state Constitution says we must, and the Legislature sees that it gets done every two years. Perry is often disengaged from that process and offers little imagination.
One year Perry's chief contribution to Austin's spending plan was political theater: His budget proposal to lawmakers was a 15-page document with line after line of zeroes.
Perry wanted to make a point about penny-pinching. But the stunt also revealed how involved the governor wanted to be in the details.
The statements Perry made during a visit to the Iowa State Fair on Monday were “remarkable in the sense that just two years ago, the governor of Texas openly talked about leading Texas out of the United States of America -- and now this campaign has caused him to profess his love to the United States,” Gibbs said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
Perry said on Monday that Americans want a “president who is passionate about America,” and later suggested President Obama himself may not share the sentiment, telling a reporter to “go ask him” if he loves America.
“Any day now, Rick Perry will ask to see the president's birth certificate,” Gibbs said. “But, look, these are the kind of crazy arguments that you have and the kind of crazy things that you're going to see much, much more of, as each of the three candidates seeks to outdo each other to pledge allegiance to the tea party to pick this nominee.”
On his second full day of campaigning, Perry made other remarks that may draw attention from Obama's team:
Speaking of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Perry said: "If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost… treasonous in my opinion."
Perry also touted his military experience, suggesting it would make him a better commander in chief than Obama: “I think the military men and women respect the commander in chief regardless of who it is. I think they really like to see a person who’s worn the uniform in that office,” Perry told reporters. “... Go ask your veterans if they’d rather see somebody who’s never served as the commander in chief.... Statement of fact. People are comfortable with folks who have been through what they’ve been through in life.”
Gibbs also said on Tuesday that Americans have a choice between continued progress under Obama or regressing to what he called bad economic policies by picking the Republican candidates.
“You're going to have a choice between going forward or going back to a lot of the problems that got us in to this mess," Gibbs said. "If you think we're a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires away from a great economy, then you’ve got three perfect candidates to pick from: Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and Rick Perry. I think there's going to be a very clear choice in this election in 2012.”
Obama was clear during the fierce partisan standoff during debt negotiations that he wanted to roll back the Bush-era tax cuts on the wealthy, a move that “would bear the most fruit for the budget and it would put us on a much saner fiscal path,” Gibbs said. “I have no doubt we'll have a vociferous campaign about those tax cuts. After the president is reelected at the end of 2012, the tax cuts for the richest are not going to be extended.
Tags: Rick Perry' Bill Clinton ,Presidential candidates ,Obama visits midwest
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