PERRY WHIPS IT UP – AT 11:47 P.M. ET:  Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who seems to be inching closer to entering the presidential sweepstakes, whipped them up at the decidedly conservative Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

Please note that the name is deceptive.  It's just a label.  They hold a straw poll each year after every conference, and the winner this year was Ron Paul, which should give you some idea what planet the conference is on.  Paul is known to haul in busloads of supporters for the poll.  From The New York Times:

NEW ORLEANS — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, the latest Republican to muse openly about exploring a Republican presidential candidacy, drew booming applause here on Saturday for not only assailing President Obama but also lecturing some members of his own party on the importance of socially conservative principles.

“It saddens me, sometimes, when my fellow Republicans duck and cover in the face of pressure from the left,” Mr. Perry said, urging activists not to separate economic and social priorities. “We need to redouble our efforts to elect more conservative Republicans.”

In an appearance at the Republican Leadership Conference, which served as something of a debut for Mr. Perry’s presidential ambitions, hundreds of delegates chanted, “Run, Rick, run!” He smiled, waved and basked in the enthusiasm but did not say whether he would answer their call to join the party’s unsettled field of presidential candidates.

Mr. Perry, who succeeded George W. Bush as governor and was elected to a third term last year, had long maintained that he had no interest in running for president. But in recent weeks, he has signaled that he is reconsidering and trying to determine if there is still time to piece together a credible candidacy.

COMMENT:  Perry, who started political life as a Democrat, is a terrific campaigner who has never lost an election.  He would run on a record of job creation, in which Texas leads the nation.  On paper he's great.

Perry has two major problems:  First, he may not translate outside Texas.  He tends to sound local rather than national, and his views place him way to the right on the political spectrum.  Winning independents nationally will be the key to the 2012 election, and that may be a tough road for Perry.

Second, Perry's record of job creation will be researched up and down by the Obama brigades.  What kind of jobs were created?  Low paying?  High paying?  What was the cost of creating those job?  Texas has a massive $24-billion budget deficit.  And, in order to keep taxes low, Texas spends less per child on education than almost any other American state.  You can almost hear the Democratic attack lines.

There is much enthusiasm for Perry because of his campaigning ability, and I put a great emphasis on that.  You can't beat Obama with a weak campaigner.  But I want to see a lot more before I have both hands clapping.  Ronald Reagan won because he could appeal nationally.  Can Perry?

June 18, 2011