Perry Hints at White House Run

Rick Perry has dropped his clearest hints yet that the race for the Republican nomination could soon be gaining another Texan. Perry, speaking at the New York Republican Party's annual Lincoln Dinner, slammed "Obamacare" and presented himself as a Reaganesque conservative stalwart, Reuters reports. He told Fox that while the presidency wasn't on his radar six weeks ago, he's now " giving it the appropriate thought process."

Perry was invited to address the Lincoln Dinner after Donald Trump pulled out of both the fundraiser and the race. "I find it ironic to be filling in for Donald Trump tonight," Perry said. "He's known for saying `You're fired.' We're known for saying `You're hired.' That's what we do in Texas." When asked by a Fox interviewer about his low approval ratings in Texas, Perry—the longest-serving governor in the state's history—said "the prophet is generally not loved in their hometown." (More governor stories.)