The addition of Texas Gov. Rick Perry to the Republican presidential campaign field upstaged the results from Iowa's Ames straw poll this past weekend.
After mounting speculation that Perry would run, the official announcement sent ripples throughout the country. It's really quite impressive when you take a step back and realize what happened.
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Let me get this out of the way: I am in no form offering my vote to Perry nor any other candidate in the 2012 election field. It is far too early in the game to endorse one candidate, particularly when this economic crisis is far from finished. But, it is impossible to ignore the attention that the man gets.
And now, back to Perry.
It's clear that many anticipated his campaign announcement, with former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggesting that Perry would eventually reveal that he is a birther, and wants Texas to secede from the country. Sure, it was meant as a joke, but the statement still stands, and will likely trigger an onslaught of basement bloggers to roll up their sleeves.
Perry's announcement came with a highly-produced advertisement which hit the airwaves this weekend and campaign stops in Iowa.
He's an intimidating figure, and many Democrats realize this. He also is running on a platform of creating jobs and tax cutting. As a result, Texas is one of the few states actually decreasing its debt, a breath of fresh air after watching the U.S. Debt Clock continuously rise.
Perry is also one of the few candidates currently running who has experience in a state's executive office. But, that experience has garnered him some criticism from within his own party.
Fellow presidential candidate Ron Paul released an advertisement Tuesday that slammed “smooth talking” politicians. Paul claims that such figures have placed the country into the difficult economic situation it currently faces.
Conor Friedersdorf, an associate editor at The Atlantic, also questioned the legitimacy of Perry's views, which have contradicted the ones that he is currently stumping on the campaign trail.
Perry said, “Limiting government seems to be but a quaint notion today for Republicans who prefer instead to set aside principle to use government to achieve their own, preferred - supposedly conservative - policy goals.”
It's a different tone than the one used now.
Perry is far from perfect; he's a politician after all. And, we all know politics is hardly perfection in action.
At the very least, the Iowa straw poll and Perry's announcement get the true campaign season into full swing. It's time for us to know ourselves best and find a candidate who reflects those views, even if they aren't currently running.
The poo-flinging on the right and left is about to get into full swing, and the Iowa straw poll marks the beginning of the campaign season. Next, we'll see the attack advertisements and the phone calls for support to come rolling in.
The media will likely be called out for its bias, and calls to shut down Fox News are sure to ramp up again. But, it's all part of the fun we see every couple of years.
Let the election season begin.
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