The Midday Brief: Sept. 13, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "A second small business featured in Rick Perry's new TV commercial says the owners don't support Perry and didn't give permission to be in the ad. Perry's new spot is his first of the general election. It focuses on the state's economy, saying business is faring better in Texas than elsewhere. The ad opens with shots of a neighborhood grocery and a barber shop in South Austin. The indefatigable Phillip Martin of the Burnt Orange blog reports over the weekend that the owners of the Farm to Market grocery aren't exactly Perry fans. And now it turns out, neither is the owner of the barber shop." — Small businesses in Rick Perry TV ad don't support Perry, Trail Blazers

• "This is the lowest number Perry has polled in the entire campaign. The biggest danger for Perry is anti-incumbent sentiment. The fact that he is losing strength suggests that he may be getting caught in the whirls and eddies of an anti-incumbent wave. White has come out for term limits for governor, and he really needs to hammer that home. He should say: (1) The first thing I will do as governor is ask the Legislature to submit to the people of Texas a constitutional amendment establishing a two-term limit for Texas governors. (2) Whether the amendment is approved or rejected, I pledge that I will limit myself to two terms as governor." — UT/Tribune Poll: Perry 39, White 33, 22% undecided, BurkaBlog

• "Amidst rumors that maybe he wants to be president some day, Gov. Rick Perry tossed another possibility into the future-job rumor mill over the weekend. Not unlike his gubernatorial predecessor, a former part-owner of the Texas Rangers and a Major League Baseball commissioner wanna-be, the guv showed off his chops as a sports blogger." — Perry in the press box, Texas Politics

• "As the United States contemplates a clean-energy future, leadership is coming from a surprising place — Texas." — Texas Clean Energy Hampered by Location, The New York Times

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The mayor of Galveston on the consequences of Hurricane Ike two years later: what was lost, why the island is worth rebuilding, the city's newfound sense of regionalism, how worried residents should be about the next storm and why the coast needs an 'Ike Dike.'" — Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski Reflects on Hurricane Ike

• "The state's public health laboratories are in financial disarray, according to a report released by the state auditor's office this morning." — Audit: Public Health Labs Are In Disarray

• "The National Republican Congressional Committee released a new TV ad over the weekend, targeting the CD-17 race and attacking incumbent Chet Edwards' ties to the Democratic establishment." — The NRCC Takes On Chet Edwards