YES. NEXT QUESTION? Is Rick Perry Eyeing The White House?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is just weeks away from leaving office after more than a decade running Texas — and he is turning his eye beyond the Lone Star State as he looks to kick-start another presidential bid.

Perry will leave the governor’s mansion after 14 years on Jan. 20. Just a few days later, he’ll be in Iowa participating in the state’s first major candidate event of the 2016 campaign. It’s the latest stop in a heavy travel schedule as he edges toward a second run at the White House.

Perry and his allies are the first to admit that he faces a tall task in overcoming voters’ memories of his dismal 2012 campaign. But they’re convinced that this time around he’s much better prepared, and that leaving office will give him much more time to focus on a potential campaign.

“Our greatest enemy in 2011 was time. Our greatest asset in 2015 and 2016 is time. Hopefully now we’ll have the time to do this right if he and Mrs. Perry choose to do it,” Bob Haus, Perry’s top Iowa advisor, told The Hill.

“It’s going to free up a lot more of his time than having to actually govern 24-7. That was one of the issues in 2011 and 2012. He was trying to run for the highest office in the country as a sitting governor,” said Perry spokesman Mark Miner.

Actually, I think the back surgery was his biggest problem. And if Bill Clinton could come back from an utterly disastrous DNC speech, then Perry can come back from much smaller problems. Though “can” isn’t the same as “will.”