There must be something in the water in Texas.
Gov. Rick Perry, who entered the presidential race in mid-August and immediately became the front-runner, departed the contest Thursday — long after it became clear that he had no chance.
Worst Week in Washington
Chris Cillizza grants the award to the Democrat, Republican, West Wing dweller, Capitol Hill insider, K Street dealer, business guru, sports hero, think tank scribblers or other inhabitant of Planet Beltway who experienced the absolute worst week.
In so doing, Perry joined John Connally and Phil Gramm as Texans who began presidential races — in 1980 and 1996, respectively — as major factors and wound up being minor footnotes.
Announcing his decision, Perry referred to Sam Houston, the Texas president and general he has described as the greatest leader in American history: “I know when it’s time to make a strategic retreat.”
Perry had actually been in retreat for months, ever since he first took to a debate stage and showed that he was hopelessly out of his depth. He will be forever remembered in the race for those debate “performances” — highlighted by his inability to recall the three federal agencies he would eliminate as president and his famous “oops” line.
But the debates, while brutal, were just the most high-profile evidence that the candidate was not prepared for the political and policy challenges of a run for president. Neither was his campaign team, which struggled to grasp that succeeding in governor’s races isn’t the same as winning a presidential primary.
Perry seemed unhappy or uncomfortable during almost all of his time in the race, as if he was aware that he didn’t quite fit in but couldn’t reverse history and stay out, as he had initially planned to do.
Rick Perry, for thinking that you were running for president of Texas rather than of the United States, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.
Have a candidate for the Worst Week in Washington? E-mail Chris Cillizza at chris.cillizza@wpost.com.
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