SMART, SMART, SMART – AT 10:53 A.M. ET:  I've been watching Rick Perry carefully.  It's clear he's about to enter the race for the GOP presidential nomination.  It's also clear a lot of people aren't satisfied with the current field.

The more I see of Perry, the more I like.  He's smart, he's fast, he's practical.  I sense that he can get the job done.  I also sense that he fights back, that he won't be intimidated by a press that will try to destroy him right from the start.  (Wait 'til you hear some pundit say, "Rick Perry makes George W. Bush look like a liberal."  Believe me, it's coming.)

Perry also oozes common sense.  He knows when to leave things alone, and recognizes that ideological groups within parties must, as Reagan knew, sometimes be kept at a bit of a distance.  Consider this, from The Politico:

Rick Perry's comment which we noted earlier - that the New York gay marriage law set to take effect on Sunday is "their business" but that he's fine with it - comes as part of his states-rights sell, which would be a strong basis of his candidacy. It's also in keeping with his anti-Washington comments (and book).

According to the AP:

"Our friends in New York six weeks ago passed a statute that said marriage can be between two people of the same sex. And you know what? That's New York, and that's their business, and that's fine with me," he said to applause from several hundred GOP donors in Aspen, Colo. "That is their call. If you believe in the 10th Amendment, stay out of their business."

He also said he strongly opposes same-sex marriage himself, which he's made clear. Still, his comments may further inflame some Tea Party critics, who have questioned his conservative credentials.

But not couching his opinion in federal terms would give him something of a bridge in a general election on an issue where the national popular opinion has, gradually but clearly, shifted.

COMMENT:  Exactly right.  No matter how you feel about gay marriage, it is nuts for the Republican Party to get hung up over it.  Perry has punted to the states, and that's a good, sound strategy.

Remember, Ronald Reagan never addressed an anti-abortion rally in person.  He always did it by phone.  He kept his distance from these social issues, as did FDR, who borrowed some programs from the socialist movement, but never acknowledged it. 

Having a set of clear priorities is critical to an election campaign.  Perry understands that.  In politics, I'd rather have 65% of something than 100% of nothing.  Ideologists, across the political spectrum, never understand that.  Please recall Winston Churchill's definition of a fanatic, as someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.  Fanatics don't win elections.

July 23, 2011