Perry is a sitting Governor. Perry was the head of the Republican Governors Assoc. He has contacts in every state (He wrote an Op-Ed with Nikki Haley less than a month ago)
He has an actual record as an executive to run on. He is not running on personality or on a narrow platform and he hasn't been running for the last 3 years. He's been governing one of of not the most successful states in the union.
He's very different from the other candidates in this regard, even Palin.
You’re exactly right about Perry, and that’s why I don’t expect him to falter or fade out. It could happen, but he’s been to the party before, and he knows how to dance.