Perry and Dewhurst seek to rehab their public images
By Wayne Slater
AUSTIN — The legislative session that opened Tuesday had something we haven’t seen before.
Two of the three top state leaders come to the session having been humiliated in the public arena last year and looking for a bit of political rehabilitation.
Gov. Rick Perry stumbled through his bid for the Republican nomination for president, an unfortunate exercise encapsulated in his “oops” moment during a debate, when he couldn’t remember the three federal agencies he’d promised to abolish. Perry wants to run for president again in 2016, quite possibly after seeking re-election as governor next year.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a prohibitive favorite when he launched his bid for the U.S. Senate, lost badly in the runoff to tea party upstart Ted Cruz, who rode the conservative zeitgeist to victory against his better-known, better-funded Republican opponent. Dewhurst says he’s “101 percent” sure he’ll seek re-election in 2014.
