Rick Perry is a consummate politician. He will do what he needs to do to get elected. And, otherwise, he's not going to upset any applecarts. The man doesn't have an ideological bone in his body. He governs conservatively only because Texas is a conservative state. He will avoid controversy like it is a rattlesnake. All of this makes him a serviceable governor in a conservative state. It would make him a fatally weak leader at a time when we need a president with rock-solid conservative principles that is unafraid of controversy. I tried to say what you said here, but you said it much more concisely and much better. Gov Perry's recovery and his re-election in 2010 is a testament to good political skills. This guy is as good as Bill Clinton as a politician. But for exactly that reason, some of us real conservatives are wary of him.