Don't Mess With Texas

Kevin Drum says that he knows Rick Perry "can't beat Obama in a general election." In an economy this bad, I share no such confidence.

From Yglesias:

We're supposed to believe that the American public won't go for an arguably dimwitted Texas conservative? Really? Do we remember who the last President was? Do we remember that the current President's spiritual mentor was a black nationalist who said 9/11 was America's chickens coming home to roost? Given appropriate conditions, lots of people are electable. I'm very open to the argument that someone like a Michele Bachmann, who clearly lacks the basic resume of an ordinary major party presidential candidate, might prove to be a serious outlier who overturns everything we think we know about Presidential politics. 

But Perry is the long-time governor of America's second-largest state. He's exactly the sort of person who wins presidential elections. If the economy recovers in 2012 and Obama's policies look vindicated, Perry will of course lose. But if we double dip, then why shouldn't Perry win? And is that really so implausible at this point?

This is going to be a really tough election. I don't know how good of a politician Rick Perry is. But I'm not sure it even matters with 7 percent unemployment.