SMU experts discuss Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign

DALLAS (SMU) — SMU experts are providing sharp, focused political analysis of Texas Gov. Rick Perry to the news media in the wake of the long-anticipated announcement that he is running for President. From The New York Times, to The Washington Post, to KERA Radio here in North Texas, reporters are turning to SMU analysts from Perry's geographic back yard to put his race into context against questions about the Texas economy, Perry's relations with the news media, and Texas public policy in the Perry era.

• Bernard Weinstein in The New York Times (on the Texas economy)

"He’s been lucky. Obviously, neither the governor nor public policy in Texas has pushed oil prices up, and clearly the technological innovation has created a whole new industry in Texas."

• Cal Jillson's live chat with The Washington Post (multiple topics)

"Perry's tactical problem is that he has to stay hard right to take the tea party and social conservative votes from [Michele] Bachmann and then defeat [Mitt] Romney as the true conservative. He will move some to the center even as he confronts Romney, but whether he can then tack enough to the center to win a majority of moderates and independents remains to be seen."

• Rita Kirk on KERA (on how Perry will deal with the media)

"He can't avoid the press like he has in Texas. They, as you know, are on the bus. They're constantly in the face. They're drawing comparisons with other candidates. So, he's going to have to deal with the national press in a way that he hasn't had to do in Texas for quite some time."

• Matt Wilson on Fox 4 News (Perry and the HPV vaccination flap)

"It’s really an ideal issue on which to make a small admission of fault so that you look like you are cognizant of your own weaknesses, cognizant of your own shortcomings. But it’s not the sort of issue that will torpedo a campaign."