Do you get the feeling the GOP presidential nominee is someone who is not yet a declared candidate for the White House?
Don't get me wrong. I like some of the Republican candidates running for president. I like some of them very much. But I can't shake this feeling that we have not yet formally met the future nominee.
I think that person is going to be Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.
I also think he is virtually unbeatable by Barack Obama or any other Democrat who might replace him at the top of the ticket.
Why?
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Here's a script for a TV commercial Perry might use as the nominee:
PERRY: "I don't make any apologies for my love of America. I don't believe the days of American exceptionalism are over. In fact, I think America's best days still lie ahead of us.
"For the last four years, Americans have been hurting. Incomes are plummeting, jobs are scarce, investments have been lost.
"In 1980, Ronald Reagan asked Americans the question, 'Are you better off now then you were four years ago?' It was an easy answer then, and it's an easy answer in 2012. America is not better off today than we were four years ago.
"When Ronald Reagan took over the presidency in 1981, he set to out create a better economic climate in the country – one that would foster entrepreneurialism and stimulate the creation of new jobs.
"That's just what I will do after I am sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.
"As the longest-serving governor in the history of the republic of Texas, I have a track record of accomplishment on job creation and economic success I will bring to Washington.
"Here are some facts: Using Barack Obama's own Bureau of Labor Statistics, a total of 722,200 jobs were created nationwide since June 2009. Of those, 37 percent – or 265,300 – were added in Texas alone. If you calculate the number based on non-farm jobs, Texas accounts for 45 percent of U.S. job creation.
"Texas didn't do this with stimulus programs or bailouts or with government subsidies. We did it with low taxes and less regulation. And that's how we can get all of America back on track again beginning in 2013."
This, my friends, is a virtually unbeatable message.
But Perry has more to offer than just a great economic message that people want to hear.
He brings good values to the table – economic, spiritual, family and moral. He also brings an inspirational personal story. He's not perfect. He's even made mistakes as governor, just as Ronald Reagan did during his California governorship. I'd like to see him take a stronger stand on border security. I'd like to see him abandon his ideas of a transcontinental highway from Mexico to Canada. I'd like to see him renounce his support of mandatory state vaccines against sexually transmitted diseases. Like anyone else who becomes president, he will need to be accountable to citizens who zealously guard the Constitution and the principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as espoused in the Declaration of Independence.
Don't make the mistake of thinking Rick Perry is the second coming of George W. Bush. This is a man who embraces conservative American values. He exudes them.
Am I pushing Perry over anyone else in the race?
No, I am not.
But I'd like to see him in this race.
I think this current governor of a big state would quickly overshadow former governors Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty.
I think Americans would instantly see Rick Perry as a guy with presidential stature.
I think he alone may have the record of accomplishment that would make him the odds-on favorite to win the presidency in 2012.