NEWS

An animated Rick Perry 'seems to have matured,' Iowans say

Jennifer Jacobs
jejacobs@dmreg.com
Texas Gov. Rick Perry chats with The Des Moines Register after his speech in Algona, Iowa tonight, July 19, 2014.

ALGONA, Ia. - An animated Rick Perry yanked the microphone from the podium and paced the stage, leaning into his words as told Iowans tonight that he knows how to start getting the country "back on track."

A guy who in the past didn't seem like he could run for a governor's office much less the Oval Office seemed like a different candidate, Iowans said, after Perry talked about "prosperity and hope and freedom," as well as a favorite topic of his lately, immigration reform.

"We know how to secure the border," said Perry, the governor of Texas, his voice rising from quiet solemnity to a loud command, "and if the federal government will not do its duty, then I will suggest to you that the state of Texas will."

That remark brought the audience of about 200 of northwest Iowa Republicans to their feet for an extended standing ovation. And the room was buzzing after the 16-minute speech at the dinner, a fundraiser for nine county Republican parties.

"He seems to have matured or changed a little bit. He seemed to have more fire, a lot more motivation," Bud Douglas, a 71-year-old loan agent and the chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Party, told The Des Moines Register.

Just two days after Chris Christie got a rock star reaction from Iowans and reporters who swarmed the New Jersey governor on his debut 2016 cycle trip to the presidential testing grounds of Iowa, Perry seemed to be feeling some competitive fire.

"This was definitely the most energized I've seen him," state Auditor Mary Mosiman told the Register. " 'Spot on' is what I was just saying to a table mate of mine. He was very energized, very upbeat, very motivated."

In the 2012 presidential race, Perry got his butt kicked, as he put it. After some verbal stumbles, including his cringe-worthy "oops" moment on a nationally-televised debate stage, he finished in fifth place in the Iowa caucuses with 10 percent of the vote and quit the race two weeks later.

During his first Iowa visit of the 2016 presidential cycle, in November 2013, Perry looked down at notes almost constantly during a short, deadpan speech to a Polk County Republicans dinner.

Tonight, on his fourth visit to Iowa in the last eight months, Perry used no notes. He rocked on his feet, gestured and at times crouched a bit as he dug in to emphasize a point.

"I know that the greatest and best years are in front of us and I know how to start us back on the track of an America that can be a beacon that's on top of a hill that's bright and that's bringing people into prosperity and hope and freedom.

"We've helped put that bluebin, that bluepin, blueprint into place." He paused and looked around with a grin. "That's a mouthful."

But Perry, who has been governor of the second-largest state in the country since 2000, quickly rolled on: "We've put that blueprint into place over the course of the last 12 years in the state of Texas."

There are signs Perry has rehabilitated himself to a certain extent since his 2012 presidential bid flopped. He has a relatively high favorability rating, with Iowa's most loyal GOP voters, a recent Register Iowa Poll found.

The Republicans with the highest favorability ratings were Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (56 percent), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (50 percent), then Perry (49 percent), according to the May 27-30 survey of 400 likely primarygoers. Next were U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky (46 percent), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (44 percent), U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida (43 percent), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (42 percent), former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (41 percent), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (38 percent), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (37 percent) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (35 percent).

Since the May survey, Rubio, Jindal, Santorum, Paul and Christie have been in Iowa, working on bolstering their image while campaigning for Iowa candidates and giving speeches.

Perry worked the crowd tonight, circulating through the whole room before the program began.

Bloomberg News national political reporter John McCormick noted that after Perry stepped off the stage, he made a beeline for the Des Moines Register's chief politics reporter. "I think he's running,' McCormick tweeted.

Perry speaks in the Clear Lake area tomorrow.

And he will be back in Iowa next month. He's one of five potential White House aspirants - along with Cruz, Jindal, Huckabee and Santorum - who will will be in Ames on Aug. 9 for a summit of Christian conservatives.

The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for February 2016.

Rick Perry's words

ON BORDER SECURITY:

"(President Barack Obama) may think he understands, but until he actually sees with his own eyes, the vastness, the trauma, the impact that this is happening on this country, I don't think he's ever going to get his arms around it." Perry met one-on-one with Obama on July 9. He told The Des Moines Register he pressed for 1,000 National Guard troops on the border now until 3,000 full-time trained border patrol agents can be posted there; to allow the Federal Aviation Administration to use drones for surveillance, and to change the laws causing the recent flood of immigrants.

ON RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT: "I think there are a lot of things I learned during the process of 2011-2012," he told reporters before the speech. "We'll make a decision next year whether or not we're going to attempt to run for the presidency again. ... Our nominee, normally, has done this more than once. Experience matters. By and large, it helps, whether you're running for the presidency of the United States or whether you're flying an aircraft."

ON WHETHER GOVERNORS MAKE BETTER PRESIDENTS THAN U.S. SENATORS: "I don't know if that's the case or not. I think Americans are looking for someone to be competent. To truly know how to deal with these issues before they become crises. Governors, in most cases, have had that experience."

ON WHETHER HE'LL RIDE RAGBRAI: "I rode my bike this morning. Stationary bike," he told the Register.