Former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, launched a second bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday and that could spell bad news for former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla.
As he’s been going around the nation, specifically focusing on Iowa, Perry has tried to present a different image than he did during his 2012 bid. The media have mostly focused on Perry’s glasses but the changes in the former Texas governor go far beyond that. In 2012, Perry tried at first to run to former Gov. Mitt Romney’s, R-Mass., right on economic issues only to get flanked on immigration.
Looking to get back in the race after a series of disastrous debate performances and gaffes, Perry tried to appeal to social and religious conservatives, especially in opposing same-sex marriage. The only problem was former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., had been doing the same thing and it helped him win the Iowa caucus. Perry quickly ended his presidential bid after poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire and threw his support to former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Perry’s been more than willing to talk about his economic record in Texas and that’s still his bread and butter. But there is far more to his message this time out.
Take, for example, a voiceover of a Perry speech included in a video clip hosted at his campaign website.
“If we're going to revive this American dream again we need a president who provides leadership that transcends the petty partisanship we've seen in the last few years,” Perry says in the video."Someone that's been tested and a president who tells the American people the truth.”
Sound familiar? Well, it wasn’t that long ago that a Texas governor was running for the presidency and promising to “restore honor and dignity to the White House.”
That’s not the only page Perry has taken from George W. Bush’s playbook.
"We need a president who bridges the partisan divide rather than widen -- who brings people together," Perry says in the video at his campaign website. “We must do right and risk the consequences."
That, of course, is very familiar to George W. Bush’s pledge to be a “uniter, not a divider” back in 2000.
Perry is also playing up his service in the Air Force, something he did not do much of in his first presidential bid. At his kickoff on Thursday, Perry was surrounded with veterans including Taya Kyle, the widow of Chris Kyle of “American Sniper” fame. Again, straight out of George W. Bush’s game plan. While now looked at as an example of hubris, Bush’s “mission accomplished” event on an aircraft played very well as he looked to win a second term.
There are signs that the former president is starting to regain some public esteem. A CNN/ORC poll released this week shows 52 percent view George W. Bush favorably while 43 percent see him unfavorably. While the poll shows Americans have far more favorable views of his father and Bill Clinton, George W. Bush beats out Obama who is treading water, with 49 percent seeing him as favorable and the same percentage viewing him as unfavorable.
In Iowa, a state Perry needs to do well in, Republican caucus voters are generally fond of George W. Bush. A Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll shows 57 percent of Iowa Republicans see George W. Bush advising his brother Jeb as a good thing.
All of this should concern Jeb Bush. Conservatives aren’t happy with the former Florida governor over his positions on Common Core and immigration. Even though Romney tripped him up on the matter, Perry is to Jeb Bush’s right on immigration and stated his opposition to Common Core at Gov. Rick Scott’s cattle show of some of the Republican presidential possibilities in Orlando earlier this week.
Republicans are in a bit of dilemma. There are signs, of course, that Americans are tired of dynastic politics and might not want a third Bush in the White House. But the last time Republicans won a presidential election without a Bush on the ticket was 1972. Perry looks to be channeling parts of the Bush legacy even as a member of the family will oppose him in the primaries.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
