A cowboy from Texas: what could go wrong?

Reuters:

Austin, Texas - Among political insiders in the Texas state capital, one thing is considered certain: Governor Rick Perry will jump into the Republican presidential race in the next few weeks.

But Perry, who favors cowboy boots and once boasted he shot a coyote while jogging, could face big hurdles making up ground in fund raising and expanding his appeal to a broader electorate with fresh and often unfavorable memories of another former Texas governor -- George W. Bush.

Perry, a staunch social conservative, is also popular with Tea Party fiscal conservatives. In an election dominated by the troubled economy and persistent unemployment, he heads a state with a strong record of job growth.

But critics say many of those jobs are low-wage, and the Texas record also includes heavy cuts in education, low levels of public service and high rates of uninsured.

Once in the race, Perry is certain to face questions about his comments at a 2009 Tea Party rally that seemed to entertain the notion that Texas could secede from the union.

"We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it, but if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come of that," he said.

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