by Zoë Pollock
John Heilemann spots an upside to Perry's entry:
What was needed … was a clear contest between the Establishment and tea-vangelical wings of the party. … What [Perry] brings to the race is a welcome clarity, and the prospect of a kind of challenge to Romney that has been lacking until now. How Romney handles that challenge will tell us all we need to know about him. And how the Republican electorate ultimately judges them will tell us everything we need to know about the party.
And, on cue, Perry surges ahead in Iowa. Alex Roarty and Beth Reinhard shed light on Romney's hands-off approach:
Directly engaging Perry would turn the campaign into a two-candidate race at the expense of Rep. Michele Bachmann. Right now, the Minnesota lawmaker is positioned to take many social conservative and evangelical votes away from Perry. … If Bachmann fades, however, it would force Romney’s campaign to directly engage Perry on substantive policy differences, and there aren’t many clear lines of attack that would appeal to conservatives. Raising questions about the high percentage of Texans without health insurance, for instance, won’t resonate in a Republican primary.
(Photo: Republican presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry signs a campaign poster at the Iowa State Fair August 15, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa. By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Dish 