The Midday Brief: Oct. 26, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith endorsed Mitt Romney for president on Wednesday over his fellow Texan Rick Perry. Smith, a San Antonio Republican, said in a news release that he committed to supporting Romney a full three months before the Texas governor entered the GOP race and that there are many 'well-qualified' candidates in the race." — Texas congressman Lamar Smith endorses Romney, The Dallas Morning News

• "The Rick Perry TV spot that went on air in Iowa last night and this morning in markets statewide appears to be missing a portion of the required FEC disclaimer." — Rick Perry Iowa ad appears to be missing part of FEC disclaimer, Politico

• "Texas Gov. Rick Perry, like President Obama, should learn quickly that no single speech can revive a sagging political operation. In Perry’s case, yesterday's effort to roll out an economic agenda was of course complicated by his own birther plunge. Even his surrogates are now deluged." — Rick Perry and the fallacy of the one-speech comeback, The Washington Post

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Gov. Rick Perry does not support a Confederate flag specialty license plate under consideration by the state Department of Motor Vehicles board, he said in Florida this morning." — Perry: Confederate Flag License Plate Would Open "Old Wounds"

• "Texas voters started going to the polls this week to decide whether to add 10 amendments to the state's massive Constitution, potentially taking the total number of amendments to 477. A few of them have drawn the ire of anti-tax groups." — Anti-Tax Groups Oppose Constitutional Amendments