Since he entered the race Rick Perry has been his own worst enemy and last night nothing changed. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Again!

Let me say that I like Rick Perry and have liked him for a long time. I was very excited when he decided to enter the race because at that point there was no one else that really appealed to me. Sarah Palin was my first choice and as it looked more and more that she was not going to run Perry was my hope.

Even today I was happy to hear that he decided to stay in the race as I still support him. But (there is always a but) he has not run a good campaign and there is no one to blame except himself. Last night was another prime example of a very ‘bad’ night for Rick Perry and I am not talking about coming in a distant fifth place despite spending millions of dollars in the small state of Iowa.

What I am referring to is his ‘speech’ after the results were known saying he was going home to Texas to determine “if” there was still a path for him to continue in the race. What? Was that the same guy who for the last three days was insisting that he was in it for the long haul and that he was the only candidate besides Romney that had the ability to run a national campaign? I could not believe what he said as he was saying it last night. When it was clear that he was Mr. 10% in Iowa I waited for his comments as I did with the rest of the candidates. Bachmann was strong and still acted like she was in the race. Newt was very strong and said basically, “On to New Hampshire!”

Then we have Governor Perry come out and state that he was not sure he could continue and had to “think about it”. Perry should have done exactly as Bachmann did. Give a strong statement and then go home to think about it over night. I was very surprised with what he said.

I was a military pilot like Governor Perry and the first thing we learned as a pilot when facing adversity was an old saying to ‘sit on your hands.’ What that means is when things are tumultuous don’t just react. Sit on your hands for a little bit and think about the best thing to do. Don’t act rashly and make a foolish mistake like shutting down the wrong engine in the case of a fire. Make sure what you do is the right thing and not an emotional reaction. I was a Naval Aviator…maybe they don’t teach that in the Air Force.

Rick Perry reacted emotionally last night. It was his first defeat as a Politian and a big one at that. I guess he was depressed after working so hard and spending so much money to only get fifth. I don’t blame him! I would have been depressed also! But he is a professional Politian and HAD to realize that Iowa is not the jury and judge of this race. It is mostly a media event these days and the winner of Iowa does not even take the nomination most of the time!  Heck, Reagan even lost in Iowa! Does he not realize this?

With his statement last night he had every media person (and voter) in the country thinking he was out. Then the very next morning he is back in. It does not look good and Rick Perry did not need another ‘oops’ moment in his campaign but that is what we had yesterday. A strong leader (which I still think he could be) does not do things like that.

For me I can still support him. But every time he has issues like this he loses supporters. Today’s voters are very superficial and they are looking for someone that does not make silly mistakes. Too bad for Perry as he has made many. It is sad to me because he was my best hope for someone to beat Obama that would truly try to change Washington DC. None of the others (except Ron Paul) talk about dismantling Washington DC like Perry has talked about. He has a great message but it gets lost with these silly little mistakes. A good friend of mine was for Perry and after last night he has decided to back Newt. I am sure there are many more like him.

I hope a miracle happens and somehow he does well in South Carolina. It could happen but (another but) then I hear he is not even going to South Carolina until next week. I realize that he needs to prepare for the debates this weekend but not going to SC for at least a day or two is a mistake. Everyone is in New Hampshire and it would be a great opportunity to get all the free media attention in SC! I just don’t get it. My only thought is maybe, just maybe he is totally revamping his staff for a final ‘Hail Mary’ in SC.

One last comment…it sure would have been a good thing if Governor Perry had taken a Dale Carnegie course before he announced he was running. No kidding! Running for President REQUIRES you to be a great speaker and a great debater these days and that is a learned skill set. One week with Dale Carnegie before the first debate and Rick Perry would still be the front runner today.

I am still in his camp but Oh what could have been.

Read More at this Conservative Blog www.RightFace.us