Rick Perry of Texas announced Saturday that he was running for president, declaring it was “time to get America working again” as he sought to offer the Republican Party a candidate who appeals to both fiscal and social conservatives. “With the support of my family and unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today as a candidate for president of the United States.” 
 
 And with that, Mr. Perry, whose intentions had been one of the biggest unanswered questions during the early stages of the Republican primary contest — he was even the topic of a question at Thursday night’s Republican debate in Iowa — made his candidacy official. But he quickly offered a stirring assessment on the state of America, criticizing President Obama and predicting, in a Reaganesque flourish, that “it’s time to believe that the promise of our future is far greater than even our best days behind us.” 
 
 Mr. Perry’s entrance into an already crowded field is expected to reconfigure the dynamics of the race, offering Republicans a fiscal and social conservative who not only appeals to the party’s base but can also challenge Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts who is leading in many polls, on jobs and the economy.
– Rick Perry laid out his reasons for entering the presidential race today in his big speech in South Carolina. Some excerpts from Politico and the New York Times: "It is time to get America working again. That’s why, with the support of my family, and an unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today my candidacy for president of the United States." "Mr. President, you can’t win the future by selling it off to foreign creditors." "America's standing in the world is imperiled." "In reality, this is just the most recent downgrade. The fact is for nearly three years, President Obama has been downgrading American jobs, downgrading our standing in the world, downgrading our financial stability, downgrading confidence, and downgrading the hope of a better future for our children." "I will work every day to make Washington, DC, as inconsequential in your lives as I can, and free our families, small businesses and states from a burdensome and costly federal government so they can create, innovate and succeed. With the help and courage of the American people, we will get our country working again."