George W. Bush was President of the United States for eight years. He was not elected but selected by a Supreme Court, the majority of the members of which had been nominated by his father, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. From 1969 to 2009, only one Democrat, Bill Clinton, held the office of President and nominated anyone to the Court. The Court ignored the law, issued a decsion it said would not be used as precedent, and let Bush move into the mansion on Pennsylvaia Avenue. The next eight years of that idiot in office opened us to attack (and yes, he was negligent on 9/11), put us into two wars, and destroyed the economy with his tax cuts for the rich. As he left office as governor of the Longhorn State, he was said to have commented, about the changes he had made in education and the economy, "I'm glad I won't be here for the results."

   Rick Perry announced his candidacy for president a few days ago. There are a lot of reasons, other than the guy is from Texas, why the possibility of his being elected concerns me. First, he lies. He has made claims about how great he would be in dealing with the nation's economy and points to how fine things are in Texas. You elect him, he implies, and you get the same degree of success for the country as Texas has enjoyed. The only problem is the facts do not bear him out. Texas is not doing so well. According to The Economist, the state has the country's third highest poverty rate, the most citizens without health insurance, the second highest imprisonment rate, and the lowest portion of high school graduates. Any growth in jobs had nothing to do with his policies, but with the price of oil. It skyrocketed. Texas has a big oil industry. People moved there because that is where the industry was---not because Texas has no income tax. And if the economy is so good, and Federal aid is so bad, why did Perry use stimulus money to balance his budget? 95% of the shortfall was met with Federal funds.

   Second, he wants to infuse government with religion. His prayer rally a week or so ago had a focus: evangelical Protestantism. We have separation of church and state for a reason. One of his supporters rattled off Perry's accomplishments on the economy but seemed to think that women's choice, marriage, and other social issues are economic. Those were accomplishments he cited.

   More to say later about Perry. For now, let him into the White House, but on second thought only on a guided tour. Guided tours don't end up in the Oval Office.