Is Rick Perry the next Comeback Kid?
Corndogs are always in style
Americans love a comeback story.
Tiger Woods has clawed himself back on top of the pro golf tour after a nasty scandal involving nightclub waitresses, lingerie models and his wife swinging a 9-iron near his head. But the whole golf world is watching to see if he can capture another Grand Slam, thus confirming his sponsor Nike’s new TV ad: “Winning Takes Care of Everything.”
The New York Times Magazine has a cover story about disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s plunge back into public life after a marital and political catastrophe. In South Carolina, former Gov. Mark Sanford is making a political comeback.
Bill Clinton once declared himself the “Comeback Kid.” John McCain jump-started a moribund campaign in 2008. And the 2004 Boston Red Sox surmounted nearly impossible odds to win the World Series.
Comeback stories, all.
And then there is Rick Perry, who famously blew up his front-runner presidential bid with an oops moment in which he couldn’t remember all three federal agencies he promised to abolish. A poll showed that even Texans, embarrassed for the state, didn’t want him to run again.
But the Republican governor is sending signals he might join the GOP sweepstakes for 2016.
There seems to be little going for another Perry bid. The big-money contributors who helped launch his brief, spectacular flameout might be reluctant to dig deep again. A reputation as a less-than-informed politico now precedes him.
Bob Vander Plaats, an influential conservative Christian activist in the key early-voting state of Iowa, didn’t even volunteer Perry’s name when asked about the GOP’s prospects to win back the White House in 2016.
Inside the Perry camp, word is that some around him who would benefit are encouraging Perry to run again — this time by studying up on the issues, getting enough rest and meticulously tending to grass-roots voters in a way he didn’t last year.
Playing the comeback card might be one of the few things Perry has going for him.
No. No, he is not poised for a “comeback”, and no, he has no future as a Presidential candidate in 2016. Even if you can somehow forget what a massive clusterfsck his 2012 campaign was, he’s still yesterday’s news. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz are the new hotness, and Rick Santorum gets whatever benefit there is to be derived from being runnerup to Mitt Romney. But speaking as someone who loves a good farce, I’m all in for him to make another attempt. I can’t wait to see what he tries to do for an encore. If it means he runs for Governor again and thus continues to frustrate the ambitions of Greg Abbott, so much the better. Oh, and on a side note, maybe Mark Sanford isn’t a good role model for this after all. Via the equally skeptical Burka.