Newly announced Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has something going for him that he lacked in his failed bid for the GOP nomination four years ago: Jeb Bush.
Perry, as in 2012, brings to the race an impressive economic record as governor of Texas, rousing rhetoric, and a natural touch in working a room. But, aside from his well documented problems in debates, one of the issues he’s confronted by is that he’s a lot like George W. Bush.
President Bush, after all, was another Texas governor known for his swagger, cowboy personality, and not too infrequent fall into malapropisms. Perry’s last candidacy fizzled before the question of whether Republicans could nominate somebody who sounds so much like Bush ever really became an issue.
But, for all the things Perry has working against him this time (a much more competitive field and the memory of his 2012 collapse), one thing that benefits him is that he can’t be more Bush than an actual Bush.
To the extent that any candidate is going to face questions about whether he’d be too much like Bush, it’s going to be Jeb. That will give Perry more room to emphasize his own record.
