Erica Grieder defends him (before the Ben Bernanke news):
He has been criticized from the right on immigration, for example–immigration being an issue where Texas is considerably more liberal than the nation as a whole. In 2001, for example, he signed legislation that allows undocumented Texan students to qualify for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities, and he has defended it recently. …
What does get Perry going is economic issues. His strongest ideological commitment is to small-government conservatism–although he's not pure on that either, because he will engage in some tacit industrial policy if it's a matter of boosting job creation. He is first and foremost a business conservative, and once you understand that about him, everything else makes more sense.
That’s why, for example, he’s a big booster of renewable energy even though he’s a climate change sceptic and doesn’t want the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why he wanted to build the Trans-Texas Corridor and why he is so enthusiastic about tort reform. That’s why he seems to spend most of his workday trying to poach jobs from other states. That’s why he doesn’t have a very aggressive stance against illegal immigration. That's why he'd rather cut education spending than close tax loopholes.
(Photo: Texas Governor Rick Perry puts his hand on Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates as they chat on arrival in the East Room for a dinner at the White House February 25, 2007 in Washington DC. President George W. Bush held a State Dinner at the White House in honor of the nation's governors. By Mike Theiler-Pool/Getty Images.)
The Dish 