Perry Talks 2012, 2016 on Iowa TV

Gov. Rick Perry is in first-test Iowa this week to sit in on a business roundtable hosted by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity. During his time there, Perry answered questions on Iowa Press, a half-hour news program on Iowa Public Television, about his failed 2012 bid for president and a possible run in 2016. He was also asked to name the key difference between himself and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, another possible 2016 presidential contender from Texas. 

“A governor has to get things done," Perry said after skirting the answer. "We have to work with members of both political parties. United States senators talk a lot.” 

Perry also said that he, Cruz and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Texas' senior senator, would all agree that the answers Texans are looking for are not "emanating from Washington, D.C."

On the show, Perry said he's learned at least one key thing from his first presidential bid: “If you’re going to run, I highly suggest you don’t have major back surgery before you get into the race." Perry underwent surgery in June 2011 to address a recurring back injury. The procedure involved a spinal fusion, nerve decompression and an experimental injection of his own stem cells. Less than two months later, in August of that year, Perry announced his presidential run in Charleston, S.C.

"Preparation’s really important," Perry said. "Parachuting into a project as big and broad and as complex as running for the presidency of the United States is very difficult to do as we did.”

As to whether he'll run in 2016, Perry said he's focused on serving out the remaining months of his long gubernatorial tenure and helping to elect other Republican governors. “I love this country and I have run up some hills before and not been successful,” he said, "but they were hills worth taking."

In the interview, Perry also weighed in on recent controversies in Texas and in other states on gay marriage, legalizing marijuana and the minimum wage. He also talked about his new glasses. Watch the full interview here.