In GOP Field, Don't Forget Rick Perry

Another name to add to the GOP mix for 2012: Rick Perry. The Texas governor publicly denies he's considering a run, but Real Clear Politics reports that he "sees a vacuum and is waiting to be summoned into the race," possibly by late summer. Already, an aide is making discreet inquiries in Iowa. With Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee out, and Newt Gingrich tripping over himself at the starting gate, Perry could indeed fill a conservative void, write Erin McPike and Scott Conroy. One potential snag: Sarah Palin.

Both are "larger-than-life figures to the tea party rank and file," but "the race might not be big enough to hold both a Texas cowboy and a certain Mama Grizzly," they write. This isn't "so far-fetched," observes Allahpundit at the conservative Hot Air blog, adding that Perry has both policy cred and personality. But he better not dawdle: "The surest way for him and other grassroots favorites to discourage Palin from running is to jump in ASAP and start claiming votes (and political operatives in primary states) whom she’d need to boost her chances against the Romney/Pawlenty/Daniels centrists." (More Rick Perry stories.)