Is Rick Perry on the comeback trail? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Washington – After weeks (months?) of bad debate reviews, plunging poll numbers, and Herman Cain sucking up all the oxygen in the GOP race, we’ve noticed Rick Perry has managed to seize the spotlight - and to some extent drive the news cycle - over the past several days.

So far this week, Perry has:

Drawn attention for seeming to revive the Obama a€?birthera€

Released a “20-20” tax plan, calling for an optional 20 percent flat tax on income and a 20 percent corporate tax. While the plan was criticized by some economists as making the system even more complicated (since many Americans would essentially have to do their taxes twice to figure out which rate was better), it drew positive comments from GOP tax mavens like Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Club for Growth’s Chris Chocola. (Here’s Decoder’s take on how Perry is selectively borrowing from Cain on this issue.)

Hired a slew of new advisors with deep experience in presidential campaigns.

Launched his first TV ads in Iowa - with a positive ad touting his jobs record in Texas.

Landed some actual hits on Mitt Romney - over Romney’s hedging on the collective bargaining issue in Ohio and Romney’s refusal to release his tax returns.

Of course, a few good (or mostly good) news cycles does not a comeback make. The latest CBS News/New York Times poll makes clear just how far Perry has to go: He’s currently in fifth place, with just 6 percent, behind Cain (25 percent), Romney (21 percent), Newt Gingrich (10 percent), and Ron Paul (8 percent). That marks a 17-point drop for the Texas governor since September.

But Perry is making his way back into the conversation - and not just on defense - and thata€?s a start.

And Perry will get more even exposure this Sunday, when he will appear for the full hour on Fox News Sunday - making his Sunday show debut, and his longest TV interview to date.

Like your politics unscrambled - with a dash of humor? Check out DCDecoder.com.

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Texas's record as death penalty capital: a help for Rick Perry? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has presided over more executions than any governor in US history, at 235 ... and counting. With convicted murderer Duane Buck scheduled to die in Texas by lethal injection Thursday night, pending last-minute appeals to the governor and the US Supreme Court, a legitimate question is whether that record on capital punishment will help or hurt Mr. Perry in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination.

Among conservative Republicans, Perry's status as top executioner is something to be applauded. During Monday's GOP presidential debate, audience members cheered when Perry said he has "never struggled" with any of the executions he has presided over in his 11 years in office. "In the state of Texas," he said, "if you come into our state and you kill one of our children ... you will face the ultimate justice."

It's not the number of executions, per se, that is a potential liability for his candidacy, say some analysts, but rather whether Perry's faith in the state's justice system is justified. In the Buck case, for instance, the condemned man's lawyers say irregularities during sentencing, allegedly involving racially charged testimony, warrant a reconsideration of the death sentence.

MONITOR QUIZ: How well do you know Rick Perry?

Perry "tends to emphasize the fact of conviction and present the other questions as technicalities,” says James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. Such resolve plays well among Texans, who overwhelmingly support capital punishment. Moreover, voter concern about jobs and the economy vastly overshadows the matter of Perry’s death penalty record.

“There’s too much else going on right now,” Mr. Henson says. “In this environment, with the economy where it is, I’d be surprised if a lot of voters make a decision based on the death penalty.”

Capital punishment may matter more to moderate Republicans and independent voters in swing states. They may frame Perry’s record on executions as a character test, says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville.

“Even people who favor capital punishment want to see each execution taken very seriously, and that includes libertarians who believe the ultimate violation of liberty is taking a life.… If someone is perceived as cavalier with human life, that will be a consideration,” says Mr. Sabato.

The Buck case is one of six that former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, now a US senator, says need to be reopened because of racially charged statements made during sentencing hearings. Mr. Buck’s guilt is not in question – he was convicted in 1997 of killing two people – but his sentencing is under scrutiny because of a psychologist's testimony to jurors that black criminals are more likely to be repeatedly violent.

Bucka€?s attorneys are asking Perry to issue a 30-day reprieve so the matter can be further reviewed, and they are appealing to the US Supreme Court to intervene. At time of writing, neither the governora€?s office nor the high court had issued a response.

Because Perry is out of the state, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is set to preside over Buck's execution. Buck would be the second death-row inmate to die this week in Texas and the 11th this year.

Perrya€?s critics cite the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in 2004 by lethal injection after being convicted of an arson that killed his three daughters. A leading fire scientist discounted the arson finding and suggested the fire could have been an accident, but Perry was not moved by his report to halt the execution. The case attracted national attention after a Chicago Tribune investigation highlighted a panel of experts who all agreed that the arson finding was wrongly applied.

What Perry has on his side is public opinion. Sixty-four percent of American adults favor the death penalty in cases of murder, compared with 29 percent who oppose it, according to a Gallup poll in October 2010, the last time the organization polled on the issue.

Perry is not likely to adjust his views on capital punishment, says Henson. “So far, it’s been more about modulation than moderation. I don’t think he’s moving to the center. Their strategy is, as much as possible, to run Perry as Perry,” he says.

If Perry were to win the GOP nomination, his hardliner approach on capital punishment is likely to join “a family of issues,” including creationism and global warming, that may “be lumped together as a combined source of vulnerability” for his campaign, says Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas, at Austin.

a€?The swagger is appealing for people on the Republican side, but off-putting for people in the middle,a€

Election 101: 11 questions about Rick Perry and his White House bid

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Governor Perry comes out swinging at debate (Reuters)

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Republicans Perry, Bachmann share stage in Iowa (Reuters)

WATERLOO, Iowa (Reuters) – Two of the leading Republican candidates for president avoided confrontation on Sunday as they attended the same Iowa fund-raiser to court the party's social and religious conservatives.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, already seen as a leader in the field despite just entering the 2012 race on Saturday, and Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman aligned with the Tea Party movement, shared a stage and struck the same tune.

"Everybody's got their own issues that matter, but at the end of the day, getting America working again is what the bulk of the people really care about," Perry told a swarm of reporters shortly after arriving in the venue.

During an interview with Radio Iowa a few hours before the Sunday evening event, Bachmann avoided directly criticizing or challenging Perry. Instead, she focused on her victory in the Iowa straw poll on Saturday, calling it "step number one in a long journey."

"I intend to earn every Iowan's vote," she said.

Perry had been expected to enter the race for weeks, setting the stage for a fight with Bachmann to win the support of social conservatives. Already, his entry has voters, even Bachmann supporters, considering a switch to Perry.

John Sabbath, 79, of Cedar Falls, said Bachmann has "the right philosophy" on economics, but "down the line" he might be interested in another candidate like Perry.

"We don't know that much about Rick Perry," he said. "We know some, but not a lot."

Steve Sukup, a businessman, former state legislator and 2002 Republican candidate for governor of Iowa, suggested Perry and Bachmann would make good running mates.

"I think we're seeing the ticket tonight," said Sukup. "I think he's just a solid conservative. He's got the right background ... and then Michele has tremendous enthusiasm."

The event was held in the Electric Park Ballroom in Waterloo, Iowa, a venue Bachmann chose for her own "homecoming" event in June, the evening before formally launching her candidacy with a speech in downtown Waterloo.

Perry told reporters he would spend "a lot of time in Iowa" as part of a broad national campaign in all 50 states. Iowa holds the first vote on party nominees for presidents in early January, followed by New Hampshire and South Carolina before building to multiple states by the end of March.

"We're a long way until the end of the race, and it's a marathon, not a sprint," Perry told reporters. "So we're going to be running hard and spending a lot of time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and lots of other states."

(Reporting by Kay Henderson; Editing by Todd Eastham)

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Rick Perry launches presidential bid (Reuters)

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – Rick Perry, the conservative governor of Texas, declared himself a candidate for president on Saturday, shaking up the race for the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012.

Perry made the announcement in a statement issued shortly before he was to address a gathering of conservatives in South Carolina to launch his campaign.

"It is time to get America working again," Perry said in the statement. "That's why with the support of my family and an unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today my candidacy for president of the United States."

The three-term Texas governor has touted a record of job growth in Texas and also is known as a strident critic of federal power and an opponent of abortion rights and gay marriage. He is considered a strong fundraiser.

Opinion polls indicate Perry enters the race close on the heels of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the early front-runner to win the 2012 Republican nomination.

The announcement by Perry, who has made his deep Christian faith a big part of his public image, came one week after he led a seven-hour religious rally in Houston to pray for America, a nation he described as "in crisis."

In remarks posted before his speech on his campaign's website, Perry said, "As Americans, we believe freedom is a gift from God, and government's prime function is to defend it. We don't see the role of government as a nanny state, and we recognize there is no government money that wasn't once earned through the sweat and toil of private citizens."

Perry sharply criticizes the Obama administration in the remarks.

"That's why we object to an administration that sees its role as spending our children's inheritance on failed economic theories that have given us record debt and left far too many unemployed, threatening not only our economy, but our security. Our reliance on foreign creditors and sources of energy not only compromises our national sovereignty, but jeopardizes our national future," Perry said.

OUTSIDER'S POLITICAL RESUME

Perry is a staunch conservative with a Washington outsider's political resume and a pro-business record of job growth during more than a decade as chief executive in Texas.

That is a potent blend in a party dominated by social conservatives and followers of the conservative Tea Party movement, and in a campaign that likely will focus heavily on the lagging U.S. economy and stubbornly high unemployment.

Perry has been sharply critical of the federal government and caused a stir in 2009 when he openly pondered his state's secession from the United States.

Raised on a west Texas farm, Perry has never lost an election. After a stint in the Air Force, he rose through the ranks of Texas politics from the House of Representatives to agriculture commissioner, lieutenant governor and then governor in 2000 when Bush left for the White House.

Perry could draw comparisons to George W. Bush, the last Texas governor in the White House, raising the possibility of "Texas fatigue" among voters. The two men and their staffs have a sometimes strained relationship, made worse in recent years by Perry's criticism of heavy government spending during Bush's presidency.

Perry could have a strong regional base as the only southern governor in the race, but could find it difficult to win over a broader electorate with fresh memories of Bush, who left office unpopular among many Americans.

Perry's critics say job growth in Texas has been fueled by the energy sector and trade with Latin America, not Perry's policies, and was just as strong at times under previous governors. They also note many of those jobs were low-wage, and the Texas record also includes heavy cuts in education, low levels of public service and high rates of uninsured.

Perry's candidacy could steal support from conservative Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, replacing her as Romney's top rival and potentially bridging the gap between the party's establishment center and right-wing activists.

(Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Editing by Will Dunham and Tom Brown)

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Republicans compete in Iowa as Perry jumps in (Reuters)

AMES, Iowa (Reuters) – Six Republican presidential hopefuls competed on Saturday in the Iowa straw poll, an unofficial test of campaign strength, as Texas Governor Rick Perry formally launched a White House run that could reshape the 2012 race.

Voters swarmed the straw poll site and lined up early to cast a ballot in the nonbinding mock election that traditionally winnows the Republican field of poor performers and boosts those who do better than expected.

Perry issued a statement formally declaring his candidacy ahead of a speech to a gathering of conservatives in South Carolina, another state with an early nominating contest.

"It is time to get America working again," Perry said in the statement. "That's why with the support of my family and an unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today my candidacy for president of the United States.

The straw poll and Perry's campaign launch, coming less than six months before Iowa residents hold the first presidential nominating contest, promise to reshuffle the field in the Republican race for the nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Perry, a staunch social conservative with a strong job creation record in Texas, is expected to immediately vault into the top tier of contenders along with front-runner Mitt Romney. Perry visits Iowa on Sunday.

At the straw poll, candidates pleaded for support as dozens of buses carrying supporters rolled into the site. Lines were long at the tents hosted by Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann, who are competing for the votes of the social conservatives who dominate the Iowa nominating contest.

Romney will be on the ballot but chose not to participate after winning the straw poll in 2007. He later lost the Iowa caucuses to Mike Huckabee, who rode the momentum he generated with a surprise second-place straw poll finish.

The poll, a fund-raiser for the state party, created a carnival atmosphere around Iowa State University's basketball arena, where candidates enticed supporters with big-tent entertainment, free food and speeches.

Any Iowa resident over 18 could show up and participate, with many allowing a candidate to buy their $30 ticket. Candidates organized the buses to haul in supporters from around the state in a warm-up for the organizational effort needed in the caucuses.

Clara Bulens of Grinnell said she voted for Bachmann because "she's beautiful, brilliant, very personable and I love her platform."

PALIN NOT A FAN

Not all of the candidates are fans of the event. Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee who is still flirting with a White House run, questioned its validity during a visit to the Iowa state fair on Friday.

"It's not always the tell-tale sign of what the electorate is feeling," Palin said of the poll. "It's who happens to show up and has the time and energy to spend that day for their particular candidate."

Pawlenty and Bachmann have the most at risk. They are vying for the same conservative supporters and both need a win in Iowa's caucuses in 2012 to have a viable path to the nomination.

Bachmann's appeal to both Tea Party fiscal conservatives and social conservatives has shot her to the top of opinion polls in Iowa, but a flat performance by the Minnesota congresswoman could puncture her early momentum.

Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, is mired in single digits in state and national polls and needs a strong showing to keep his campaign alive. He ripped Bachmann's record in Congress during a debate on Thursday at the straw poll site.

Four other Republicans -- U.S. Representatives Ron Paul and Thaddeus McCotter, businessman Herman Cain and former Senator Rick Santorum -- also paid the fees and bought tents and speaking time at the event.

Romney, along with former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, did not pay to participate in the straw poll but will be listed on the ballot.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Analysis: Perry may pose biggest threat to Romney (AP)

AMES, Iowa – The biggest rumblings in the Republican presidential campaign are coming from Austin, Texas — 1,000 miles from the leadoff caucus state where front-runner Mitt Romney and seven opponents squared off ahead of an important test vote this weekend.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry sent word that he would join the race, casting a shadow over the debate Thursday night and threatening to upend the race.

Back in Iowa, Romney emerged unscathed with his leader-of-the-pack status intact after two feisty hours; his two Minnesota rivals — Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty — sparred repeatedly as each sought advantage ahead of Saturday's Iowa straw poll.

Overall, the dynamics of the campaign did not change with a single debate. And they may not change when Saturday's straw poll results are announced.

But the race could well change in the coming days as Perry dives in.

The Texan may pose the biggest threat yet to Romney.

Conservatives who make up the core of the GOP primary base view Romney skeptically on cultural issues, and he hasn't been able to establish himself as the heavy favorite for the nomination even though he's spent months promoting his background as a businessman and claiming that he alone has the know-how to create jobs to pull the country out of a period of high unemployment, rampant foreclosures and tumultuous financial markets.

Democrats are already taking aim at Perry.

"His record will get scrutinized," David Axelrod, senior political adviser to President Barack Obama, said Friday. Axelrod suggested Perry was taking too much credit for Texas' relatively healthy economy and job creation.

"He's been the beneficiary down there of the boom in oil prices and increased military spending because of the wars," Axelrod said on CBS' "Early Show." "I don't think many people would attribute it to the leadership of the governor down there."

Perry could benefit from GOP suspicion about Romney.

The Republican establishment has a lackluster view of Romney's candidacy, leading deep-pocketed donors across the country to look for more candidates to draft into the race who could bridge the historical tension between the party's social and economic wings. They couldn't convince former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to run. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie repeatedly refused, too. And Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels declined overtures as well.

Enter Perry.

He is credible on issues social conservatives care about and sent a strong message to evangelicals last weekend by hosting a national prayer rally in Houston that drew roughly 30,000 Christians. He also has overseen a period of job growth in his state, making Texas one of the few states in the country that have posted economic gains and giving him the opportunity to challenge Romney's pitch as the jobs candidate.

Iowa, with its strong base of evangelical voters, may be tailor-made for Perry. He was making his first trip to the state Sunday, a day after formally announcing his candidacy in South Carolina and New Hampshire — just as Iowa straw poll votes are being cast.

A caucus campaign by the Texan could force Romney to retool his strategy of downplaying the state — which he lost during his first run in 2008 after investing heavily — in favor of friendlier ground elsewhere.

"Perry hasn't shown up in the rodeo yet, but it looks like a Romney-Perry race," Republican strategist Jim Dyke said.

That may be a bit premature.

Perry is entering the race months after other candidates and Romney has a multimillion-dollar head start in fundraising.

Also, there still are at least five months before Iowa's precinct caucuses that kick off the winter-to-summer GOP nomination season, and there still are several unknowns, including whether former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ends up running. She was making a last-minute visit to the Iowa State Fair for Friday, reviving talk of a potential candidacy on the eve of the straw poll at Iowa State University. The straw poll could winnow the GOP field and indicate which candidate has the strongest get-out-the-vote operation.

This is turning out to be the most consequential week yet in the 2012 Republican presidential nomination fight — but not because of anything that happened at the debate.

Romney largely kept his criticism on Obama and the incumbent Democrat's handling of the economy, an issue that has blossomed anew as the GOP's top campaign concern in the wake of a tumultuous week on Wall Street and continuing high unemployment.

"I understand how the economy works," Romney said during the debate, noting the lessons of both successes and failures as a venture capital firm chief executive officer. "Our president doesn't understand how to lead or grow an economy."

He wouldn't bite when asked to comment on his rivals' economic positions.

And Romney's rivals gave him a pass on a potentially problematic comment he made earlier in the day at the Iowa State Fair when confronted by hecklers, who suggested corporations should pay more taxes. That prompted Romney to respond, "corporations are people."

Democrats quickly jumped on the exchange, though his GOP rivals did not.

Those who tried to knock him down a rung didn't even nick him.

Struggling to find traction, Pawlenty poked at Romney on several issues, including how much land he owns as well as his support for a Massachusetts health care bill similar to the national one Obama signed into law.

But Pawlenty ended up getting pulled into a family fight with Bachmann, who has outshone him in Iowa despite his 18 months of laying groundwork for a campaign.

"It's an undisputable fact that her record of accomplishment and results has been nonexistent," Pawlenty said, adding: "She's got a record of misstating and making false statements."

Bachmann, who has eclipsed Pawlenty since entering the race, quickly responded with a list of what she called Pawlenty's liberal policies when he was Minnesota's governor, including his support for legislation to curb industrial emissions and his backing of an individual health care mandate in Minnesota, both unpopular positions with GOP activists.

"You said the era of small government is over," she told Pawlenty. "That sounds a lot like Barack Obama if you ask me."

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman — making his first debate appearance — also tried to claim the space as the economic-focused candidate by championing his state's job gains during his tenure and noting his time as an executive in his family's chemical company. But Obama's former ambassador to China also defended his work under the Democratic president as well as his support for civil unions — both issues that are problematic in a GOP primary campaign.

Lesser-known candidates tussled for position, including former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, businessman Herman Cain and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Perry was absent from the stage. But not for long.

___

Thomas Beaumont covers the Republican presidential race for The Associated Press.

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