Will He Or Won't He?

Rick Perry is “very likely” to run?

He has the solid record, he has the right feel — but is America ready for another Texas governor already? Especially, as my friend Tony Katz pointed out last week, one who, if you close your eyes, sounds frightfully like that last Texas governor?

It’s unfair, really, that good candidates can be dismissed for trivial reasons. Ask Jeb Bush about that some time. That isn’t to say I think Perry is finished before he begins — far from it. In fact, I think Mitt Romney is probably wetting himself right now at the prospect.

But if Perry wants the nod, he’s going to have to fight for it, and with a couple of handicaps which have nothing to do with his qualifications.