Rick Perry stands alone among the GOP contenders for the 2012 presidential nomination in the way his campaign began and ended.
Today, Rick Perry finally announced he was suspending his presidential campaign and, in doing so, ending the excruciating parade of mistakes and miscalculations that left many in the national audience wondering how this guy ever got elected governor of Texas. But as we review all the political errors and bone-headed gaffes the campaign committed over the last six months, the biggest mistake is easy to miss: Perry and his team didn't stick with the strategies that made them such a strong political force in his home state.
A day before he quit the presidential race, Rick Perry called for more debates to further vet the GOP candidates.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry suspended his struggling presidential campaign Thursday and threw his support to Newt Gingrich, a development that could alter the dynamics of the Republican race just two days before the tightening South Carolina primary.
Rick Perry suspends his presidential campaign after poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, then endorses Newt Gingrich.
Turkey's foreign ministry condemned Texas Gov. Rick Perry Tuesday for saying that Turkey was a "country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists."
Gov. Rick Perry tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer he is standing by comments that Turkey is run by Islamic terrorists.
GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry speaks with CNN's John King on caucus day.
Following a disappointing projected fifth place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he'll return to Texas on Wednesday to reassess his candidacy.
Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry did not submit enough signatures to get on the Virginia primary ballot.
Only two Republican presidential candidates will appear on the ballot in Virginia next year, regardless of how many are in the race.
I bet it sounded like a good idea at the time. Now, not so much.
Rick Perry's best asset in the race for the White House these days might just be a pair of Brooks running shoes.
Every election cycle we see politicians going out of their way to pander to the American electorate's various fringe elements. This is one of the unfortunate consequences of a primary-based, two-party election system, and both sides of the political spectrum are guilty. But this doesn't make it right, and political candidates often later find themselves in hot water when the general electorate remembers this primary pandering.
A look at some of the most memorable GOP debate moments this year, including Perry's "oops."
The tenth debate of the topsy-turvy Republican campaign will take place at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Saturday night.
After his infamous "brain freeze" that drew laughter and ridicule from his detractors, Texas Gov. Rick Perry poked fun at himself Thursday night while delivering the "Top Ten" list on CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman."
GOP presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry goes on David Letterman's show to poke fun at his recent debate performance.
One is the loneliest number. Two can be as bad as one. And three, well ... um ... what was three again?
The morning after a debate gaffe that many political watchers say will go down in modern political history, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said his "brain freeze" shows that he is not "the slickest politician" among the field of Republican presidential hopefuls.
During CNBC's debate, Gov. Rick Perry forgot which government agency he would cut out if he becomes president.
Appearing Wednesday in a presidential debate in Michigan focused primarily on economic matters, Republican Herman Cain again faced down questions about the sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed his campaign and the Republican race for the White House.
Presidential candidate Rick Perry stumbled at the GOP debate while naming three federal agencies he would eliminate.
Wednesday's Republican presidential debate in Michigan was almost entirely focused on economic issues, but the forum offered some seriously revealing moments about each of the candidates.
Appearing Wednesday in a presidential debate in Michigan focused primarily on economic matters, Republican Herman Cain again faced down questions about the sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed his campaign and the Republican race for the White House.
After seeing Texas Gov. Rick Perry's lackluster performance in debates and accompanying drop in the polls, some pundits conclude it would take a force of nature to save his campaign. Fortunately for Perry, such a force does exist, and her name is Sarah Palin.
Rick Perry has an economic plan. He wants the federal government to spend less money, and he wants huge tax cuts.
No matter how you slice it, the richest Americans would do better under Rick Perry's tax proposals, but the picture is more of a mixed bag for those on the lower rungs, according to an analysis released Monday by a nonpartisan tax research group.
Rick Perry's first campaign ad kicks off with a promise.
Rick Perry is really starting to annoy me.
Howard Gleckman is a resident fellow at the Urban Institute and editor of TaxVox, the blog of the nonpartisan research organization Tax Policy Center. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
After a string of disappointing debate performances, the presidential campaign of Texas Gov. Rick Perry is signaling that Perry might be dialing back his participation in several planned televised Republican presidential primary debates.
Gov. Rick Perry says he'll skip future debates to meet more voters. CNN's Joe Johns reports.
Silly season has begun again. The sideshow is threatening to move into the big tent, and distraction will seem like it's the main event.
CNN's Erin Burnett talks to David Malpass, economic adviser to Rick Perry, about the governor's new flat tax proposal.
Rick Perry has said he wants to scrap the tax code and make taxes simpler.
CNNMoney: What's a flat tax?updated: Mon Oct 24 2011 10:41:00
Step aside 9-9-9. A new flat tax proposal is coming to town.
Rick Perry is calling for a flat tax to stop his campaign from flatlining. But it might be just what he needs to revive his presidential ambitions. Because a flat tax is not just a big idea; it could prove to be both good politics and good policy.
Seven Republican presidential candidates engaged in a sometimes contentious debate Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, as bad blood boiled between front-runners and the surging Herman Cain found his opponents taking aim at his tax plan.
PolitiFact examines some of the claims made in the CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas.
The Federal Reserve. It's the one institution almost every Republican presidential hopeful loves to hate.
There may be no more foul four-letter word in the Republican presidential race than TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program passed in 2008 to bail out the tottering U.S. financial system. And former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who runs far at the back of the GOP pack in most polls, dropped it on the front-runners in Tuesday night's CNN debate in Las Vegas.
Gov. Rick Perry touted part of his plan to boost the economy at Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, saying his energy strategy would create 1.2 million jobs. Last week, Perry said his plan would focus on tapping unexplored domestic sources for oil and gas. To do this, he said, regulations on oil and gas producers would need to be changed. Fewer rules would free up drilling in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, and expand clean-coal technology resources, he said.
Texas Governor Rick Perry says he would kick start economic growth by unleashing the energy industry.
It is no secret that President Obama is in a tough fight for re-election. He is correct in describing himself as the underdog at the present time.
Texas Governor Rick Perry likes to brag that his state is an economic powerhouse.
The controversy around Texas Gov. Rick Perry's use of a hunting camp with a racially insensitive name is more of a tale of an ugly era in Texas history than an indictment of the governor, a longtime Texas political observer said.
Even as events here in the United States are reshaping the political landscape for the 2012 presidential elections, it has become blazingly clear that what is happening in Europe may actually prove more decisive.
The number one song on Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop charts this week is a romantic little ditty called "Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay".
Texas Gov. Rick Perry defends his actions after reports that a hunting ranch leased by his family used a racial slur.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's suggestion that the United States may send troops to fight Mexican drug cartels riled officials and spurred debate from analysts on both sides of the border Monday.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels discusses GOP presidential candidates and talks about President Obama's re-election campaign.
While the events of the past weekend raised new questions about Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his campaign for the Republican nomination, several consultants and attendees at a key GOP conference here said they think the race is still moving toward a two-man showdown.
Jennifer Rubin, David Shuster, Craig Crawford and Howard Kurtz discuss the press targeting Gov. Perry at the debate.
Of all the punches thrown at Gov. Rick Perry during last week's Republican presidential debate in Florida, few landed harder than questions about Perry's support for a Texas bill allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry responded to Rep. Michele Bachmann's criticism of his short-lived 2007 executive order requiring girls to get a vaccination for human papillomavirus, during Thursday night's Republican presidential candidates' debate in Orlando. Bachmann said a drug company that produced the vaccination hired his former chief of staff to lobby him.
Going into Monday night's CNN/Tea Party Debate, the anticipation was that the two frontrunners -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- would continue their argument over who created more jobs or whose position on Social Security was more electable.
Dana Loesch, Ron Brownstein and Mark McKinnon on the latest GOP presidential candidate debate.
At Thursday night's presidential debate in Orlando, Florida, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hit Texas Gov. Rick Perry hard on the issue of immigration, characterizing his policies as encouraging illegal immigration. He specifically criticized Perry's support for a Texas law that allows children of illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities, likening it to a $100,00 educational discount. Perry defended the state policy as important for integrating future generations into the economic mainstream and said it's "heartless" to deny the children of illegal immigrants a chance at in-state tuition rates.
In any debate, contestants must make decisions given their limited amount of time to speak. On Thursday night, Rick Perry made the wrong ones. The Texas governor came across as forced and all over the place -- awkward, unsure, with no clear strategy for how to answer questions or when he should go on attack. At one point he tried to fit three attacks on his nearest challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, into one sentence.
Rep. Michele Bachmann continued to criticized Texas Gov. Rick Perry's short-lived 2007 executive order requiring girls to get a vaccination for human papillomavirus, during Thursday night's Republican presidential candidates' debate in Orlando.
Here are four things we learned from Thursday night's Republican Party of Florida/Fox News/Google debate in Orlando, the third GOP presidential debate in as many weeks:
At Thursday night's Republican presidential debate in Orlando, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas engaged in vigorous debate with his GOP rivals over immigration and defended his record and views on border security. During the exchange, he specifically mentioned his support for Arizona's controversial immigration law, which drew national attention.
The perils of being the Republican frontrunner came into sharp focus for Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday at a debate in Florida, with his rivals aggressively seeking to poke holes in his record and dislodge him from the top of the polls.
In his 2010 book "Fed Up!" about all that is wrong with U.S. governance, Texas Gov. Rick Perry never mentioned Israel or Palestinians.
On Monday night at the CNN/Tea Party Republican Debate in Tampa, Florida, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas suggested that he couldn't be bought for a campaign contribution of $5,000. That raises the question: Is there a price at which Perry's loyalty is for sale?
Gov. Rick Perry admits an executive order requiring 11 and 12-year-old girls to be vaccinated against HPV was a mistake.
Gov. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney go head-to-head over the entitlement program in the CNN/Tea Party Republican debate.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, a Republican candidate for the presidency, dropped into New York City on Monday to court the support of Hispanic business owners.
As the debate over Texas Gov. Rick Perry mandating the HPV vaccine continues between Republican presidential candidates, a woman whose endorsement is coveted by all them, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, has her own complicated history on the issue.
Arthur Caplan says he'll give $10,000 to charity if Michele Bachmann can produce her HPV victim.
Perhaps it was because Rep. Michele Bachmann was in her element at the CNN/Tea Party Republican Debate. With her campaign flagging, the founder of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress delivered a surprise body blow to the GOP front-runner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann accuses Rick Perry of helping drug companies with the HPV vaccine.
During Monday's CNN/Tea Party debate, Rep. Michele Bachmann criticized Texas Gov. Rick Perry's short-lived 2007 executive order requiring girls to get a vaccination for human papillomavirus, claiming in part that his former chief of staff lobbied for the drug maker, and that the company made millions of dollars because of the order.
Social Security is still the third rail of American politics.
Monday night's inaugural CNN/Tea Party Debate revealed more about the current Republican presidential field than we've seen in any previous debate. In the same way that the tea party has dramatically changed the course of national politics, this debate could change the course of the presidential race.
Rep. Dean Cannon on how well Gov. Rick Perry did at the CNN Tea Party debate.
Gov. Rick Perry attacks President Obama's latest jobs plan during the CNN/Tea Party Republican debate.
With Texas Gov. Rick Perry threatening to cement his standing atop the national polls, his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination aggressively sought to undermine his conservative credentials on Monday during the first-ever CNN/Tea Party debate in Florida.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry found himself standing apart from his GOP rivals on a pair of immigration issues during a CNN/Tea Party Debate in Tampa, Florida, Monday night.
With Rick Perry instantly assuming the top spot among candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, it is no surprise that nearly every other man and woman on stage with him at last night's debate took aim.
CNN DC Bureau Chief Sam Feist on why CNN partnered with the Tea Party for tonight's debate and what viewers can expect.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry tries to pray away the bad economy during an event dubbed "The Response."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry holds a unique title: the nation's longest-serving governor.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is accused of stopping a probe into a controversial execution. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
In February 2009, Sam Bassett got called to Gov. Rick Perry's office.
Relatives of a man executed in 2004 urged a Texas state commission Thursday to continue probing claims that outdated scientific testimony put him on death row as members weighed a legal opinion restricting their authority.
Wednesday night's debate with the eight contenders for the Republican presidential nomination allowed the participants to square off, but the race clearly boiled down to the two men side-by-side in the middle, analysts said Thursday.
When I watch my debate team during a competition, I look for mistakes. I want to be able to tell my debaters how to do better in their next debate. I decided to take a similar approach when watching the Republican presidential candidates Wednesday night.
Video from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shows the amazing speed at which flames can move through a park.
The pace of the 2012 race for the White House kicks into high gear Wednesday night, with the first of three Republican presidential debates scheduled over the next 15 days. And while it's the fourth GOP debate so far this cycle, it's the first to include Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who jumped into the race for the White House less than one month ago.
CNN's John King and panel members discuss the results of a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
It is fitting that Rick Perry will take the stage in his first presidential debate just a short drive from Hollywood.
Gov. Rick Perry takes a swipe at fellow GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and touts job creation in Texas.
Rick Perry is not a fan of Social Security -- or is he?
Just as Hurricane Irene was slamming the East Coast, the political rhetoric was approaching category 5 strength in other parts of the country.
In less than six months Republican presidential candidates will face off in early critical caucus and primary states and if polls are any indication at this early stage, it's fair to say Rick Perry's recent bounce shows he could be a thorn in Mitt Romney's side.
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