So I see where former Texas governor Rick Perry is running for President again. I guess it’s like eating potato chips; once you start it’s hard to stop even if you’re not actually enjoying them.

Frankly I thought Perry was a good candidate in 2012… until I saw him campaign. Now it just calls to mind an unkind but apt comment long ago from, I think, John Ehrlichman about a congressman developing « inexplicable » presidential ambitions. And Tacitus’ verdict on Galba that « omnium consensu capax imperii, nisi imperasset » except at least Galba was surprisingly bad at doing the job, not at filling out the initial application.

Politics does strange things to people’s judgement in all kinds of areas conspicuously including « I can win this » and « I should try ». But do we really have to watch?

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