Governor Goodhair Bets On The Wrong Horse

Governor Goodhair ended a news conference a few years back by saying to an adversarial reporter, "Adiós, MoFo." The Urban Dictionary site defines MoFo as "a shortened version of the word Motherf**ker." So much for inspirational leaders. I imagine that Rudy would feel right at home talking about MoFos with Governor Goodhair. While Senator McCain lived with salty language in the U.S. Navy, I don't know if he would exhibit such word-choice. It will be a great day — on a par with the coming Inauguration Day 2009 — when we can say "Adiós, MoFo" to both The Dubster and Goodhair. If this is a (fair & balanced) linguistic fantasy, so be it.

[x Austin Fishwrap]

Click on image to enlarge. Copyright © 2008 Ben Sargent

[x Austin Fishwrap]
Perry endorses McCain with Giullani out
By W. Gardner Selby

Gov. Rick Perry, following Rudy Giuliani's lead, endorsed U.S. Sen. John McCain for president Thursday amid uncertainty among Texas Republicans about whether the state will play a meaningful role in choosing the party's nominee.

Perry, a former Air Force pilot, visited by telephone with McCain, who was a pilot and prisoner of war in the Vietnam War.

Rick Perry Governor previously endorsed Rudy Giuliani, who is out.
"I told him I was proud to fly wing for him if that's what he needed me to do," Perry said during a rare visit with reporters in his Capitol office. He said he expects to campaign with McCain in Texas, probably taking him to the Texas-Mexico border.

Perry and other Republicans speculated, though, that the nomination could be resolved before the Texas primaries on March 4. Voters in 20-plus states, including delegate-rich California and New York, will act Tuesday. McCain, chased by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and long shot U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, could follow his wins in Florida, South Carolina and New Hampshire with a closeout burst of victories.

Meanwhile, Texas conservatives "have been knocked off their game," said Kenn George, chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party. George, who pitched in for Huckabee in Iowa, said he's fielded calls from activists excited or despondent about McCain's rise and the departures of Giuliani and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson from the Republican field over about three weeks.

"It's going to take some time" for voters to sort their feelings, George said. "It's too soon after the trauma —just the fact that all their candidates got wiped out."

Tom Pauken of Dallas, a former chairman of the Texas GOP who's undecided in the race, said Texans will flock to McCain if he takes many states Tuesday. But, Pauken said, "if it's still a race, anything can happen. I've never seen a situation where so many Republican activists and leaders are uncertain about what to do."

Perry endorsed Giuliani in October as the candidate best suited to lead the nation in a time of war. The Texan stumped for him in several states, eventually touring Florida with the former New York mayor, who lined up with McCain on Wednesday after finishing third in Florida. Perry spoke out Thursday about the same time California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed McCain.

McCain "can and will win the war on terror," Perry said. "Everything else is kind of secondary."

Perry said he'd woo conservatives wary of McCain by invoking Hillary Clinton, the Democratic senator and former first lady battling for her party's nomination against Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

"For folks who are wringing their hands and worrying about that gosh, we don't have the perfect candidate, I guess you could say the same about the other side," Perry said.

Critics question McCain's not voting for tax cuts ushered into place by President Bush, though McCain favors making the cuts permanent.

Others single out his sponsorship of a campaign finance law said to hurt grass-roots organizing, his co-authorship of legislation that could have helped illegal immigrants toward legal residency, and his decision not to commit to a constitutional ban on abortion, though McCain opposes abortions.

Kelly Shackelford, a lawyer who's among Huckabee stalwarts, said grass-roots conservatives who have formed Perry's political base are aligned with Huckabee, who has a Feb. 9 rally set in Austin to which 400 people have said they're coming.

"The real grass-roots Republicans control (primaries) in Texas," Shackelford said. "Those are Huckabee people."

A Jan. 10 poll of likely Republican voters in Texas by Ralph Bordie of Austin found Huckabee and McCain in a statistical dead heat, with 25 percent each. Bordie polled 725 likely Republican voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percent.

Huckabee, in an e-mail, told supporters this week he must do very well in some states Tuesday "to help fuel our momentum heading into the Texas primary."


From state economy to border, Perry's views:

In a nearly 40-minute visit with reporters Thursday, Gov. Rick Perry discussed various topics, including:

The Texas economy: 'Most governors would dearly love to have the Texas economy in their home states.'

Proposed national economic stimulus package: 'If the stimulus package flows directly to the taxpayers of Texas, I support that.'

His office policy of erasing nonsubstantive e-mails after a week: 'If we're allowed to make the determination on keeping records that really matter, then I think we do that. ... We have rules. If we need to change the rules, come to the Legislature.'

Enhanced driver's licenses: 'Secure the border first, and then we'll work on the issues of how to identify the people who are in this state.'

Fencing on Mexico border: 'There are places in the rural areas I think it is an absolute waste of time and effort. There are some places that we probably support what the federal government is doing, and some that we don't.'

When he'll have another lengthy meeting with reporters: 'When I want to. Would that be an appropriate answer?'

[Since 1983, W. Gardner Selby has covered Texas politics and government
for The Beaumont Enterprise, Dallas Times Herald, The Houston Post, San Antonio Express-News and Austin American-Statesman, where he is currently the paper's chief political writer.]


Copyright © 2008 The Austin American-Statesman

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