The Midday Brief: Oct. 7, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Perry has shown a proclivity to step on his own body parts and will undoubtedly do so again. The question is whether he learns from his mistakes. If he does, he will be the GOP nominee and stands a fair chance of beating President Obama, given the horrific economy and the public’s loss of confidence in the president. If he doesn’t and isn’t more careful about what he says and how he says it, Perry will either lose the nomination, or he will win it and then lose a general election that’s there for the taking. Simple as that." — The Cook Report: It’s Perry’s to Win, National Journal

• "Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress just introduced Rick Perry here at the Values Voter Summit, telling the crowd that 'those of us who are evangelical Christians' have a black-and-white decision to make in the 2012 GOP primaries: 'Do we want a candidate who is skilled in rhetoric or one who is skilled in leadership? Do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience or one who is a conservative out of deep conviction? Do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person – or one who is a born-again follower of the lord Jesus Christ?'” — Perry endorser frames stark choice, Politico

• "On the surface, being the governor of the largest red state with a record of creating more jobs than any other would seem like a huge asset. In some ways it certainly is. Gov. Rick Perry likely wouldn’t have been urged to run if he were governor, of say, Nevada. And he certainly wouldn’t have had such a reservoir of large donors without 10 years in the governor’s mansion. But Texas has also turned into a major liability, or rather, Texas-style politics have become a liability for the struggling Perry." — Perry’s Texas handicap, The Washington Post

• "Rick Perry is once again tying GOP rival Mitt Romney to President Barack Obama, releasing a web video this morning that accuses Romney of advocating policies similar to the president's cap-and-trade." — Video: Perry compares Romney to Obama on carbon emissions, Trail Blazers
  

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Rick Perry's campaign is reenergized by fundraising numbers that seem to assure a two-man race with Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination. But Perry has a dark cloud looming on the horizon: two high-stakes presidential debates where he’ll have to vastly improve his performance to break Romney’s stronghold." — Perry Camp Reenergized by Fundraising, but Debates Loom

• "Texas’ congressional Republicans seized on new unemployment numbers to decry President Barack Obama’s economic policies days after he stopped in Mesquite to sell his jobs plan." — Texas Republicans Pile On Job Numbers

• "Hey, Texplainer: With several states racing to move up their primaries, will my vote even matter when Texas holds its primary?" — Texplainer: Will the Texas Primary be Too Late to Matter?