Texas Gov. Rick Perry was in New York on Monday, and he sounded like a rejuvenated candidate ready to give a run at the White House another go.
Perry has traveled to New York and California in the past week with a focus on the economic development in Texas that has occurred under his watch. Howeber, his economic talking points became derailed by social issues after he made controversial remarks about homosexuality. On Monday night, he faced a more friendly crowd, speaking at a meeting of top conservatives at New York's Grand Hyatt in midtown Manhattan.
Even there, though, Perry found himself facing tough questions from a panel of conservative-leaning writers, who asked him what went wrong during his presidential run in 2012.
Wall Street Journal editorial board member James Taranto told Perry his campaign was the "most disappointing" of all Republican candidates. Taranto also asked Perry why things went south so quickly. Perry took the comment in stride.
"Well, it was an incredibly exciting period of time. I led in the polls, if I recall correctly, in late August. And it was three of the most exhilarating hours of my life," Perry quipped. "Pretty powerful life."
More seriously, Perry said he learned many "extraordinary, hard, frustrating" lessons from his 2012 campaign. The first, he said, was that he should not have scheduled back surgery five weeks before he launched his presidential bid in August 2011. However, the main factor Perry pointed to was his lack of overall preparation.
On Monday, Perry stressed he is well-organized and ready to go this time around. He didn't make any qualms about hiding his interest in a second presidential bid. When asked at the end of a question-and-answer session by host Mallory Factor if he was going to run again, Perry said, "I'm preparing."
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