Posted by
Steve on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:14:56 AM
We have a new candidate running for President and one old candidate dropped out over the weekend. Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, announced he is running for President. Tim Pawlenty announced that he is dropping out of the Presidential race due to his poor showing in the Iowa Straw Poll.
Tim Pawlenty had been a favorite of the media to win the nomination. But, he never seemed to catch fire with the public. His speeches lacked any direction and he just seemed in over his head. He might have made a great President, but he was not a good candidate. In today’s Presidential politics, you have to be a good campaigner in order to get a chance to be President. Gone are the days where your name is put up for President and your campaign consists of sitting on your porch and talking to people. Today, you have to get out and campaign hard and with fire to win the nomination. Tim Pawlenty just seemed to be missing that fire.
Rick Perry announced for President on Saturday in South Carolina. He is currently the Governor of Texas. He has been Governor of Texas for the past 10 years. During that time, Texas has produced about 40% of all the new jobs in the country, despite being only 5% of the population. With that kind of record Rick Perry has to be considered a front runner for the White House.
Rick Perry also inherited a budget that was severely in the red and turned it around. Texas now runs a surplus each year. People attribute this to oil, but when you look at the overall Texas budget oil makes up only a small percentage of the Texas budget. The surplus came because the Texas economy raised all boats, not just the oil industry.
There are questions about Rick Perry. The biggest one is that he was a Democrat until just before he became Governor of Texas. He was even the Texas campaign manager for Al Gore when he ran for President. Now, that is a huge negative. Al Gore is off his rocker and has been since long before he ever ran for President. Since Rick Perry supported Al Gore for President, he has some explaining to do before being accepted by the rank and file Republicans. Right now, few people really know things like him supporting Al Gore. But, I am sure that opponents have done their opposition research and will find that out in short order. It is sure to come up on the campaign trail a time or two before we get to the nominee.
Right now, the Republican field is quite large. But, there are only three that really have the eye of a large number of voters. They are: Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. Each of the three has negatives that could disqualify him/her from the nomination. Each of the three has great strengths that will enhance their resume. Whoever wins will be the one that can explain his/her problems and not lose support with the Republicans who will be voting in the primary elections. We could have a surprise from one of the others in the Republican field, but that is highly unlikely. I have not settled on a candidate to date. As the primary season rolls along, I will evaluate the candidates and make up my mind. Until then, I will have to learn more about each candidate and the issues before making such an important decision.