Nothing was mentioned of a presidential campaign, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry's speech before the New York County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day dinner at Grand Central Station in Manhattan sounded like a stump speech.
Perry was substituted for Donald Trump. According to the Houston Chronicle, he made a little joke at the Donald's expense. "He's known for saying, 'You're fired.' We're known for saying, 'You're hired.' That's what we do in Texas."
The main point of the 25-minute speech was a contrast to the free spending, big government ways of the Democrats in Washington that had brought economic malaises and the loss of jobs, to small government, low taxes in Texas that has brought some measure of economic growth and job creation. If Perry were to run for president, that contrast would be the main thrust of his message. He would do for the United States what he has already done for Texas.
It is a powerful message. Most of the other candidates such as Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann or Rick Santorum cannot match it. They can only say what they intend to do. Even the governors in the race -- Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and perhaps even Sarah Palin -- would be hard pressed to match Perry's resume.
President Barack Obama would certainly have some difficulty answering any argument to make Perry president of the United States. Obama has presided over an economic downturn using methods that are the exact opposite of what Perry has employed. He cannot very well say, let us not let Gov. Perry apply what has worked and instead allow me to keep doing what has not.
The only strategy the president and his people can employ against Perry is to try to scare people. Sure, Perry has presided over job creation and economic growth. But it has been at the expense of school children, old people and the sick. Sure, Perry is a success, but he lacks compassion.
Perry's response would be, I have made the difficult choices. The president has not. Take note of the results and act accordingly.
It should be noted that politicians in other states -- California and now Arkansas -- are urging Perry to get into the race. If he does and if Palin does not, then he might shoot to the top tier in short order, taking on Romney for the nomination.
It would therefore be a delicious irony if the administration of Barack Obama turned out to be a sad interlude between two presidencies of men from Texas. The difference is that while George W. Bush was a "compassionate conservative," Perry is a "tough love conservative." That will make all the difference in the world.
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
