On Monday, Perry announced he would not seek a fourth term as governor, prompting many to speculate he will run for president in 2016.
– Rick Perry is done in Texas, which will give him time to do all kinds of exciting things, like "learn the names of all the departments of government that he disapproves of," and, of course, run for president, writes Alexandra Petri at the Washington Post. And Petri thinks he should go for it. "Sure, he fizzled in 2012, a year when a piece of damp cardboard led the field for a full six weeks after someone pointed out it was not Mitt Romney," but hey, there are three good reasons: It's not like it could get any worse than last time. Americans believe in second chances. "I can't remember the third reason." In what can't be a good sign for Perry, Rand Paul used the same joke last night, Politico notes. Alex Pareene at Salon doesn't like his chances, either. "'Vote for your dumb right-wing dad' won't work any better in 2016 than it did in 2012," he reasons. And while Hendrik Hertzberg at the New Yorker is also pretty sure he's toast—and deservedly so—he does point out that Perry had one "transcendentally good idea" during his "disastrously meteorite-like" presidential run, namely a constitutional amendment getting rid of lifetime Supreme Court appointments in favor of 18-year terms.