George W. Bush isn't the only high profile Texas Republican on a book tour. Texas Governor Rick Perry, fresh off his reelection victory last week, is touring the East Coast in support of his new critique of the federal government, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington.
Last night he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Here's the segment.
KUT News asked Harvey Kronberg, political commentator and editor of the Quorum Report, for his take on Perry's performance.
KUT News: How did the governor do last night?
Harvey Kronberg: I thought the first rule is not to embarrass yourself. The governor did not embarrass himself. In fact, I think he gave as good as he got and came out looking pretty good.
KUT News: How is the national spotlight affecting his political message if at all?
Kronberg: First of all, let's just say he's dramatically more comfortable on stage than he was even three or four years ago. You can see his self confidence is at a pretty high level. I don't know that he's adjusting his message for a potential presidential run because some of the stuff that he ends up advocating is pretty draconian. But he is certainly putting himself in the national conversation.
KUT News: How do you think this interview will affect his book sales?
Kronberg: There were a couple moments there where you got the sense that even a liberal audience was about to applaud. I think he came across as reasonable and engaging. Of course, after a political campaign, most candidates have either been demonized or become caricatures. I think it probably did boost his book sales and certainly made him a lot more approachable than people who had just read about him.
You can also catch Perry's recent appearances on Glenn Beck's show, on CNN's Parker Spitzer, and on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren here and here.
