Another Campaign Post-Mortem

Rick Perry is out, although it was almost as if he was never really in. All the promise he showed as Governor of one of the best-run states in the Union was squandered by a just-plain-lousy campaign. His early debate performances — the single most-important metric this season — were awful. But he studied hard, and from there, they became comically awful.

But I think Perry’s biggest problem was he never articulated a vision as President. It was, as I’ve remarked before, as though he were running for Governor of America. That also showed up in a looseness, an unseriousness, on the stump, better suited to a glad-handing local pol than the next President of the United States.

The last straw had to have been a recent poll showing him running third behind Romney and Gingrich in Texas. When you’re the third-favorite son? Your campaign is over.

Word is, Perry will endorse Gingrich, on the eve of Gingrich’s immolation-by-ex-wife courtesy of ABC News. I’m not sure why Perry feels the need to endorse anyone at this stage, except perhaps as part of an anyone-but-Romney movement. It looks to be a little late for that, so I honestly don’t understand what he’s thinking.

But that’s been pretty much the case since Fabulous Governor Perry became Terrible Candidate Perry. And what a shame for a guy who — on paper — was one of the best candidates the GOP field had to offer.