Perry, Palin, and the Post-Leadership President
It’s official; Texas Governor Rick Perry is in the 2012 Presidential race. He made his announcement today at the Red State Gathering in South Carolina with a rousing speech that was equal part indictment of the poor performance of our current President and unabashed optimism about what America can do in the future. Today, on Twitter, I remarked that Perry sounded as if he’d been listening to The Delivery the past few weeks. Those of you who listen regularly (and you do listen regularly, don’t you?), know that I’ve practically begged for a Republican candidate to take up the message of unabashed optimism in and love for America and the people who make her great every day. Philip Klein had some thoughts about Perry’s announcement, you can watch the speech for yourself thanks to The Right Scoop, and you can read the Obama campaign’s buzzword-laden response here.
Meanwhile, the other Republican candidates have gathered in Iowa for the Ames Straw Poll — the first “primary” of the season. Stacy McCain is there today and will have the most up-to-date information about the poll and its eventual results. I expect we’ll see at least two candidates whose campaigns were at least viable fall out of any serious contention — probably Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty, though that’s only an educated guess, so don’t hold me to it.
Sarah Palin is in Iowa as well for reasons that, as best I can tell, only she knows. Maybe she’ll run for President; maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll back one of the Iowa candidates; maybe she won’t. That really is the problem with Sarah Palin as a political leader. She gives her followers no clear idea what her destination is. That doesn’t seem to bother most of them, but if she wants to be a serious player in conservative politics, she’s going to have to pick a couple goals and head toward them in more or less a straight line.
President Obama is also headed to Iowa and I don’t find it coincidental that he announced his trip just a day or so after Sarah Palin arrived in the state. I suppose this is more of the “leading from behind” for which he’s become famous. Of course, the White House says the trip is not even a little bit political — just a happy little jaunt to the heartland to explain why none of the crushing economic failure of the Obama administration is actually the fault of the Obama administration. Oh, sure, the Republicans just spent two weeks politicking across the state, but that has nothing to do with the President’s trip. Nosirree!
Other Posts of Interest:
- No, Folks. Sarah Palin Does Not Have to Run.
- So Long Sarah, but Not Goodbye
- Can Sarah Win An Election? Why Are We Even Asking This Question?
Category: The 2012 Horse Race
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