The word on the street is that Rick Perry is going to save the Republican Party.
With a primary field that doesn’t seem to satisfy the electorate and/or the media covering the race, the GOP is primed for Perry to ride in on a white horse and seize the nomination. The Texan inherits his position from a long line of GOP saviors, joining the ranks of Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, and Fred Thompson. Barbour and Daniels opted out of the 2012 race. Despite plenty of anticipation for a consensus conservative to jump in and provide Republicans a choice who wasn’t John McCain in 2008, Thompson proved to be what was feared: an entirely unserious candidate.
Why would Rick Perry be any less disappointing?
Like Thompson, Perry could be underestimating the existing primary field – a field which has been doing plenty of behind-the-scenes work to build campaign organizations. Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Newt Gingrich have been unofficially running their 2012 campaigns since 2008. Like Barbour and Daniels, he could simply be the empty suit of the week – a fresh face many party leaders hope will have enough appeal to unite various factions of the Republican party and win critical middle-of-the-road votes to make 2012 closer.
Perry’s deliberations suggest he understands just what he would be getting into if he throws his hat into the ring – and that, like fellow governors Daniels and Barbour, he would rather not declare his candidacy unless he’s prepared to do what it takes to go all the way. If that is the case, then Perry could be formidable in the primary, even with the ground he has to make up. Still, there are plenty of areas where Perry is behind, such as establishing field offices, raising money, and building other elements of a successful campaign.
The problem isn’t with Perry or his nascent campaign but with the “savior mentality.” It creates expectations which are very difficult to live up to – and with expectations so important during primaries, Perry and his campaign would be wise to keep that mentality in check.
Jim Eltringham 