On paper, Texas Gov. Rick Perry should be having a strong week. He rolled out a new flat tax proposal endorsed by Steve Forbes, he hired a slew of top talent for his campaign, and he is expected to launch his first television ad campaign in Iowa this week. But no matter how good his policies are, or how many great staff hires he makes, Perry is still Perry.

In this past Sunday’s Parade magazine Perry refused to provide a direct answer on birtherism. Asked, “Governor, do you believe that President Barack Obama was born in the United States?” Perry eventually responded, “Well, I don’t have a definitive answer, because he’s never seen my birth certificate.” Perry then volunteered that he had talked to Donald Trump about the issue and concluded, “He’s the President of the United States. He’s elected. It’s a distractive issue.”