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“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in...

The telegenic Texan took two steps forward sitting in the “center chair” on Fox Monday evening. One step backward too alas, but more about that in a bit. Gov Perry was relaxed and alert as he fielded a variety of questions. He smartly used his answers to remind conservatives why they should consider him. This is a man who is a quick study and a formidable politician. Instead of just Texas this and Texas that he pointed out that the Lone Star state all by its lonesome is the 13th largest economy in the world. A nice way to pivot...

. . . Luttrell is a former Navy SEAL, who — in this new campaign video — plainly talks about the worst day in his life when he escaped from heavy assaults and attacks by Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan in 2005. As he so poignantly recalls, 19 of his buddies died on that day. Luttrell says of Perry: “He’s one of the most honorable men I’ve ever met. As far as character and honor and commitment and all those words that most people use as a punch line, he lives that stuff. It’s those characteristics in a man,...

Politics: The character assassination of GOP candidates by the MSM continues as CBS casts a jaundiced eye on the Texas governor's alleged "bizarre" speech in New Hampshire. Perhaps they prefer liberals drunk on power. When Lincoln appointed Ulysses Grant as general of the Army in March 1864, the selection bypassed more than 200 senior generals. As the story goes, when one of the president's aides pointed out that he had picked a man who was well known for his alcohol consumption, Lincoln, mindful of Grant's battlefield accomplishments, is reported to have said, "Find out what brand he drinks and send...

“ … states' rights, states’ rights, states' rights!” — Rick Perry at the Alamo, June 15, 2009 Until you get higher in the hills, Laconia might be considered the vortex of New Hampshire redneck politics, heavy into the Tea Party. The Lakes Region Tea Party is small but might be indicative of how things will go. A straw poll on Nov. 16 gave Newt Gingrich 49 percent while Cain tied with Ron Paul at 15. Romney 12 percent and Rick Perry 0. Similar results in a straw poll at a Republican club in Alabama on Saturday: Newt 45 percent, Cain...

Rick Perry followed his best debate performance with one of his best speeches on the campaign trail in Iowa. The GOP presidential candidate delivered the keynote address at the Scott County GOP’s Third Annual Reagan Dinner. Perry provided a preview of a new policy proposal that he will reveal today. “I’m going to unveil a plan to uproot all three branches of government and overhaul Washington,” Perry said. “It touches every branch of Washington.” One part of the plan that should hit home with many Iowa caucus goers is Perry’s ideas for the judiciary. “I’m going to address lifetime federal...

As a journalist who’s covered American politics for the last 24 years, and who covered the Soviet Union as a foreign correspondent before that, I’ve learn to appreciate the dark art of political propaganda.....One of my all-time favorites is the straw man scam.... A recent example of the straw man scam came courtesy of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. At a Family Leader conference in Iowa on Saturday, Mr. Perry said that “there is a time and a place for us to intervene and intervene militarily.” Phew. Glad we got that cleared up. Mr. Perry went on: “But when we...

Anita Perry, the 59-year-old wife of Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, has been very actively campaigning for him on her own all fall. Now, she's taken on a new assignment. Mrs. Perry has launched an online drive to recruit hundreds of volunteers for what she calls the Perry Strike Force. This would consist of Perry fans who would travel to Iowa and work across the state Jan. 2-4, getting out Perry caucus-goers to the hundreds of meeting sites on the evening of Jan. 3. (Don't worry, the BCS Championship Game is not until Jan. 9 this time.) "With over 1,700...

NEW YORK -- With his poll standing sagging, Rick Perry spent Friday asking Republican donors and other supporters in the Empire State not to write off his presidential candidacy. "His message is he still feels he's in it, and he feels it could still go his way," said John Catsimatidis, a supermarket mogul who met privately with the Texas governor. "I think Rick Perry is very personable. I would almost give him a Bill Clinton aspect -- you meet him, you like him."

LAS VEGAS - Rick Perry is sitting comfortably on a plush sofa in a hotel far from the strip that put the sin in "Sin City." It's the day after another presidential debate, and if the flat-screen in front of him were on, he'd hear plenty of appraisals of whether a new fiery approach helped his pursuit of the highest office in the land or hurt him more. Instead, he's talking about his boyhood in Texas, his time in the Air Force and a wiener dog named Lucy. He is, here in suite 6118 of the Red Rock resort, relaxed...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has challenged the women conservatives love to hate — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — to a public debate next week. In a letter obtained by The Hill, Perry requested that the pair meet for a debate during Perry’s visit to Washington next week to compare the plan he rolled out this week to “Uproot and Overhaul Washington” with the current system. “I think it would be a tremendous service to the American public to see a public airing of those differences,” he wrote. “Let the people decide.” Perry’s challenge comes just days after his roll...

Playbook has the script of a new radio ad airing in South Carolina this week from the pro-Rick Perry super PAC Make Us Great Again, featuring praise from Rush Limbaugh and former Focus on the Family head James Dobson:

Of the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is viewed most favorably by all voters, while Texas Governor Rick Perry is the least liked. Among Republican voters, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich still earn mostly positive reviews, while Perry and Ron Paul do not.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he would cut the United States' foreign aid budget to zero and then allocate taxpayer dollars depending on each country's support for America, indicating that Pakistan would no longer receive U.S. aid but Israel would. "It's time for us as a country to say no to foreign aid to countries that don't support the United States of America," Perry said. His idea received support from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich but, in the case of Pakistan, was opposed by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at the CBS News/National Journal debate...

Gov. Rick Perry stated at the outset of his presidential campaign that he is running for president based on his principles and leadership accomplishments, not his oratorical skills. Media focus on his debate missteps deliberately ignores Perry's record and charisma. America's third president - Thomas Jefferson - was a lousy public speaker. He was literally a genius, and his singular eloquence as a writer is seen in his prose in the Declaration of Independence and other writings. But Jefferson was no speaker, so much so that he only gave a couple speeches in his entire two-term presidency. He was so...

As I watched the debate Wednesday night between the eight Republican presidential primary opponents, I was overall pleased, both by the way the candidates handled themselves and by the answers they gave to the myriad of economic questions they were asked. It was a debate that I personally think all Republicans won, and while many like myself may think that Perry is finished, the ultimate loser was CNBC. CNBC lost because they could not make the Republican candidates act like a bunch of toddlers fighting over the only toy in the room. The moderators tried their best to get...

Rick Perry gave a superb speech to NH Cornerstone, a New Hampshire conservative group. The full speech is here and well worth the time to watch (about 25 minutes). In fact, this partisan New Hampshire reporter considers the speech close to perfect for the audience. How did the left-leaning media react? As could perhaps be anticipated, with ridicule and mockery. For example, in a harsh piece by Brian Browdie of the NY Daily News titled "Rick Perry's unusually expressive 2012 speech in New Hampshire sparks rumors he was drunk," ... ..Why did the media react this way? Maybe because Perry...

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement on the recently released International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report: “The new IAEA report is the latest indicator that the regime in Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability. Evidence that this includes work on a nuclear warhead design is particularly alarming – and again puts the lie to Tehran’s claim that its nuclear program is for peaceful, energy-related purposes. “President Obama’s policy on Iran, based on outreach and limited sanctions, has failed. This administration has labored under the misconception that Iran’s nuclear program could be negotiated away. But the...

See Governor Rick Perry's new ad for Iowa and discover how he lives by the values of hard work, faith, and family. 31 second TV ad at linked URL.

...With Cain facing a series of harassment allegations, a lack of campaign organization in the early voting states and questions about his readiness for the job, political observers expect another candidate to emerge as Romney’s rival. Gingrich and Perry are the most obvious applicants for that role. Rep. Ron Paul’s (Texas) unpopularity with mainstream Republicans makes him unlikely to win, and Gingrich and Perry triple or quadruple everyone else in polling. ...So who’s got the upper hand in the race to become Romney’s rival? Let’s break it down: Money Perry is the easy winner here........ Debates Gingrich is the easy...