Perry says again that he's running again

From last week:

For those who didn't hear -- or believe -- him the first time, Gov. Perry said again today that he is running for reelection in 2010.

He told reporters at a public event in Fredericksburg that he is like the chief executive of a successful corporation and definitely planned to seek a third full term.

"I look at it like this, is that if Texas were a corporation -- and we would be one of the most efficient, most successful corporations in the world -- and if you're a stockholder in that corporation, why in the world would you want to change your CEO when things are going well?" he said, according to the Associated Press.

I like Brown Bess' comment that at the 2006 shareholders' meeting, 61% of them voted for a different CEO. Perry was fortunate that his opposition that year was fractured. He won't be so lucky next time.

By the way, not that I consider these things to be representative of anything, but it's still amusing to see that no one defended Perry in the comments to that post. I know he claims not to pay attention to things like his approval ratings, but you have to figure his advisers are aware of them. I wonder how they plan to deal with it if he really is serious about ginning it up again in 2010. Do they believe his "successful CEO" schtick? I have a hard time imagining it, but stranger things have happened.

Waiting for KBH: The next generation

And so the mind games begin anew. Evan Smith receives an email from a "Republican insider well-entrenched at the Capitol but not particularly close to Rick Perry" who insists Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will not run for Governor in 2010; she'll accept the job as Chancellor of UT instead. Her spokesman categorically denies this. All I know is that the filing deadline is a long ways off, and we'll be in for a lot more of this sort of thing until then.

Clay Robison looks at it from the other perspective:

Perry spokesman Robert Black told my colleague, R.G. Ratcliffe, that the governor's position is he's running for re-election but may reconsider if he wins some of his priorities from the Legislature.

That suggests a novel line for the governor's 2009 state-of-the-state speech: "Give me what I want, and I will go away."

Boy, there's an appealing choice. I think I'll take my chances in the campaign, thanks.

More on the Perry 2010 plan

PoliTex has some follow-up comments from Rick Perry after his surprise re-election announcement from yesterday.

[Perry] didn't seem to see the big deal [over the timing of his announcement].

"I just got asked," Perry said. "After a while, as people keep asking, I just answered their question."

Perry couldn't give an answer as to why he decided to make the announcement today in Grapevine.

"My wife and I have discussed some weeks ago and made the decision we wanted to keep on doing the job we've been doing for Texas," Perry said. "And it was a good a time as any to make the announcement and I hope Texans agree with us that's what's happening in the state is a reflection of the leadership."

More of Perry's musings:

On any suggestions he's just saying he's going to run and will back out later: "I'm set to go. The good Lord may call my number tomorrow and then ya'll will have to write that He fouled up Perry's plan."

On his surprise announcement: "I told a lot of folks I was going to run again. I think this was just the first time there was an audience with a camera and reporters." [Editor's note: There was no cameras nearby when Perry told two reporters he was going to run again]

Why am I not surprised by that last bit? Burka scoffs at Perry's professed rationale:

Is there any impulse other than self-gratification? At the very least, the people of Texas deserve some indication of what he hopes to accomplish as governor for life. This announcement was an insult to the state. There was no gravitas to it. The episode captured what drives Perryphobes crazy. His ambition is without substance. It consists only of the desire to hold office and exercise power. Never mind that the question, "To what end?" has no answer, other than to reward his friends and draw pleasure from the misery of his critics.

[...]

At this point in my writing, I received a call from a friendly intermediary with good contacts in the Perry camp. This was the message: (1) The governor did not intend for this to be a real announcement for reelection. He would not have announced his intentions in this way. (2) He isn't prepared to run for reelection at the present time. He doesn't have an agenda yet for the next legislative session. (3) His closest advisers are split on whether he should run again. (4) Please convey this to Burka before he starts hyperventilating. (Too late. EMS is on the way.)

So I guess I am supposed to believe that this was an amateurish mistake by a supreme political pro. I'm not buying it.

He goes on from there, but you get the idea. I don't really know what Perry has in mind, but as I said before, I'll enjoy the spectacle as the likes of KBH and David Dewhurst froth over it.

Burka also expands on this discussion in a podcast interview with Evan Smith and the DMN's Wayne Slater, which you can listen to here. An interesting point they both raise is that Perry has neither a signature accomplishment that will resonate with a broad swath of voters, nor a clear rationale for why he wants to run again. If this really isn't a bluff, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with for that. What task can he say he's still got work to do on that he's been working on and making progress on since 2003? Property tax cuts, I guess, but do you think anyone will really believe that? I don't see it, but then I'm not inclined to.

One last thing, from PoliTex:

On term limits: He may have been interested in them idea years ago but, obviously, no more. "Term limits by and large mean that the bureaucrats run government and not the elected officials because the longevity of elected officials allow the people's voice to be heard..."

Funny how many still-incumbent Republicans who were for term limits back in the 90s feel that way now, isn't it? It's almost as if it had been a cynical ploy to gin up an issue against then-incumbent Democrats.

The thirty-nine percent solution

To shamelessly steal PDiddie's title, Governor Perry today told the Republican Governor's Association that he wants four mofo years.

Gov. Rick Perry, after speaking Thursday at a forum held by the Republican Governor's Association, told reporters that he plans on running for re-election in 2010.

When Perry was asked if he could foresee himself, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison all on the ballot in 2010, Perry said he knew that he would be on the ballot.

"I don't know about the other two," Perry said. "You need to ask them."

Asked specifically if he was going to run for re-election, Perry said, "Yes."

During a news conference with other Republican governors, Perry also said that if Republican presidential hopeful John McCain asked him to be his running mate, Perry would refuse.

Hutchison released a statement signaling she has not ruled out running against Perry.

"I am encouraged by the growing number of Texans asking me to return home to run for governor to provide leadership for our state," Hutchison said. "It is too early to make an announcement about the 2010 race. Right now, I remain committed to serving the people of Texas in the United States Senate and helping our Republican candidates win crucial elections this fall."

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie quickly released a statement on Perry's announcement.

"Given the current State of the State after five years of absolute and failed Republican rule, there's no reason to think Governor Perry's record would earn him more than the 39 percent he received in 2006," Richie said, referring to the support Perry received in a four-way race two years ago.

Evan Smith says confidently that Rick Perry is, one way or another, serving his last term in Austin. I'll just say that I feel pretty good about Bill White's chances to take him out in 2010; at the very least, I feel confident that the Democratic money people learned their lesson in 2006, and will put their resources to better use this time around. As for KBH, who knows if she means it this time when she once again says she thinks she might run for Governor? I'll believe it when I see it, and though I think she'd be favored against Perry in a straight-up primary (there are other possibilities out there as well), I'm not as sure as Burka that she'd win. But if the two of them start carping at each other in the press, I'll sure enjoy the spectacle. BOR has more.