People outside of Texas should also understand that there is basically two camps in the Republican Party. You could call them the "Bush/Hutchison" and the "Perry" camps. The two camps hate each other but the citizens are kind of ambivalent towards each other, we'll support both. However, when they come head to head the voters tend to side with the Perry camp.
Most of the dirt on Perry has been flung at him by the Bush/Hutchison camp and it has never stuck.
My long winded point is that a lot of people outside of Texas see Perry as the "second coming of George W. Bush" and nothing could be further from the truth. I would be surprised if Bush endorsed him.
If Perry's own party couldn't take him out, the Left doesn't have a chance.
Yes, there is a definite coolness between the Bush’s and Perry. Don’t know where it started or why, but can’t help feeling it stems from a longing (especially by Barbara) to see Jeb as President.
I always felt she favored Jeb over Dubya, not evidence, just a feeling.
Perry is far more hardrock conservative than Bush, although I love the Bushes dearly, I prefer the political philosophy of Perry.