If he always flips in the right direction, that’s a lot better than nothing. Still, it would have been better for Perry to have settled on these things a few years ago than to be evolving in the middle of debates.
I've been saying that about Mitt Romney for four years. Furthermore, Mitt Romney can offer the excuse of needing to survive politically in Massachusetts. Nothing was stopping Rick Perry from taking better stands on these issues, but he didn't.
Ronald Reagan had a long history of thoughtful, intelligent writing and speaking on important issues. The press liked to call him an "amiable dunce," but he was not a dunce. He simply took stands that the media didn't like. Rick Perry doesn't have that history. All he has is a Republican legislature in Texas and a book written to boost sales to red-meat conservatives at a time when red-meat conservatism sells books. If he wants to be president, he needs to spend a few years figuring out what he believes and how those beliefs can be implemented. If he makes that transition, he might be ready to run for president.