The Midday Brief: Oct. 3, 2011

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "At a critical juncture in his bid for the GOP presidential nomination, Gov. Rick Perry is defending himself from accusations that his family’s hunting camp was long known by a racially offensive name. But even some of his fiercest critics say Perry's no racist." — Despite Camp Name Furor, Perry's Critics Say He's No Racist

• "Michael Morton, who served 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife Christine, will now be released, cleared by DNA evidence linking another man to crime and to another murder 16 months later." — Morton Cleared in Wife's Murder, Will Be Released After 25 Years

Your afternoon reading:

• "The White House has decided not to pile on as Gov. Rick Perry copes with fallout from a report that he and his family hunted on a lease whose name included a racial epithet often referred to as 'the N-word.' 'The name is clearly offensive,' Obama spokesman Jay Carney said at Monday's press briefing. 'And from what I've read — and I have no inside knowledge beyond what I've read — the governor shares that opinion. ... I really don't know that much about it except from what I've read.'" — White House goes easy on Perry over offensive hunting lease, Trail Blazers

• "In an interview with TIME on Monday morning, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele also scolded Perry. 'It’s very troubling on some many levels, for so many reasons,' Steele said. Steele said questions over when and how clearly the rock had been painted over miss the point." — Michael Steele on Perry’s Hunting Camp: “It’s Very Troubling," Time

• "I think very highly of Mr. Cruz as an attorney, having heard him argue the Tom DeLay midcensus redistricting case in the U.S. Supreme Court. I don’t think attorneys ought to be pilloried for the clients they take on. But I agree with the analysis by Plaza de Armas that this is more than a business case; it’s a political case, one that could turn Cruz’s tea party support against him." — Could Chinese patent case cause trouble for Cruz?, BurkaBlog

• "Donna Campbell, the conservative Republican opthamologist who a year ago made an unsuccessfuI bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett this morning announced her intention to run to challenge state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, in the Republican primary." — Campbell to challenge Wentworth, Postcards