It’s hard to tell where to begin, but all I can say is I’m more than ready to start.
It has been a long slog, arguing over the self-inflicted wound that was our fake debt-ceiling crisis. It lasted nearly as long as the health care debate and without the prospect of getting any medical attention when it was over.
Now it’s time to move on to the next chance for a self-inflicted wound: the Republican presidential primary race.
But first, a note: As I write this, the market is tanking. Standard & Poor’s is still trying to explain its math issues. Barack Obama is still getting hammered for his we’ll-always-be-a-AAA country speech, when most of us thought we’d be a major-league country by now.
Meanwhile, the makeup of the super-committee Gang o’ 12 — set up to resolve all our problems — is 75 percent complete. I’d give it closer to a 2 percent chance of actually succeeding, but only because I believe anything is possible.
But there is new news. Whether it’s good news depends on if you’re a political junkie or just a masochist. I qualify on at least one count.
This week will probably be remembered as the real starting point for the Republican race. When secessionist Gov. Rick “America Second” Perry announces the start of his campaign on Saturday, that should complete the field, unless Sarah Palin gets in, which she won’t. But guess what: Palin has announced the Bus Tour is resuming and, yes, heading to Iowa this week. She’s not just reloading, she’s also refueling.
The momentous week started, sort of, last Saturday, with Perry’s “Response” prayer session, which was was basically an evangelical- Christians-only affair. I don’t know if that’s how you get elected president, but it may help win the Iowa caucuses.
Perry also got his first blowback from the speech when The Huffington Post excavated some work from several Texas newspapers. It appears Perry is more generous with his words than his money. In one year, for example, he made $182,318, of which he donated exactly $626. Of that, $400 came in non-cash gifts to (wink, wink) Goodwill. I hope he has the receipts. At least Perry — who famously jogs with a gun — hasn’t yet said anything about donating elk meat.
We moved on to Newsweek’s gratuitous crazy-eyes Michele Bachmann cover, in which Bachmann looks like every liberal imagines her. It was totally unfair, but Bachmann, proving she’s not anything like Palin, laughed it off, which was exactly the right move.
On Tuesday came the Wisconsin recall follies, in which Democrats and labor tried for a do-over. They lost. The Democrats needed three wins and got only two, which isn’t that surprising since there had been only two successful recalls in Wisconsin history.
I’m actually in the anti-recall camp, except in cases of, say, fraud or sedition or if Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is involved.
Tonight comes the Iowa debate, in which eight candidates are involved, but not Perry. This is being seen as a do-over for Tim Pawlenty, once thought to be among the favorites, but who backed down to Mitt Romney in a previous debate. This time T-Paw (presumably not a lefty) should come out swinging. If he doesn’t make contact, you may never see him again.
We’ll also see if Romney can counter-punch. It’s something he may have to get used to. The expectation is that Perry, once he enters the race, will come out swinging, or maybe more.
Mark McKinnon, the veteran Texas politico, told the Washington Post’s Dan Balz that Perry “will put Romney in the microwave and turn it up to high.”
It’s a strange visual, but these are strange times. Perry certainly has some advantages. He doesn’t have Romneycare to worry about. His state has fared relatively well during the recession. And he’s a conservative’s conservative who knows how to ride the wave of discontent that’s out there. He feels your, well, disappointment. Romney is more likely to feel your inner PowerPoint.
If you want to be a pundit, it’s obligatory at this point to note Fred Thompson’s disastrous late entrance in 2008 and mention how that could happen to Perry. And also that Perry is a Texas governor, which may not be the best thing to put on your presidential resume.
But my guess is that when the week ends Saturday, with the Iowa straw poll, most eyes will be on Perry’s speech in South Carolina.
On Sunday, Perry comes to Iowa. Next week, Obama stops in Iowa on his bus tour. They’ll both talk about debt. But if they also talk about Iowa corn and ethanol, you’ll know the race has really begun.
E-mail Mike Littwin at mlittwin@denverpost.com
