So how long has Rick Perry known he was going to run for President
If you believe Rick Perry he just decided recently he would run for President. Putting aside the question of whether you can ever believe any politician, I think his handling of the Willingham investigation shows he has planning this for a long time.
Sam Bassett - the first chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission - recently spoke out and provided insight into the maneuverings that led to his dismissal. Bassett was called to the governor's office in February 2009 and questioned about what the commission was doing. The authority to conduct the investigation was questioned, and the governor's assistant general counsel criticized it as a waste of taxpayer money. Bassett indicated he thought they had authority, but said he would do some checking, which he did. What was frustrating to Bassett was that the Attorney General's office was acting as their counsel, and voiced no concern about jurisdiction. The same attorney general's office that recently concluded they had no such jurisdiction.
Bassett was also asked about the motivation behind replacing him with John Bradley, and noted that Bradley not only repeated Perry's description of Willingham as a monster, he also adopted the governor's position on jurisdiction. While admitting he was naive, he now concedes he obvious - which is that Governor Perry was doing everything possible to derail the investigation.
Which brings the question of why he was so concerned. It's doubtful he was concerned about the effects the investigation would have on his future in Texas - that was already solid, and his constituency appears unconcerned with the occasional execution of an innocent person. It might be an issue nationally though - even though it hasn't gotten much traction yet.
So had Perry already made the decision to run in February 2009? It certainly explains his heavy handed action in derailing the Willingham investigation. The question now is what impact that will have on his national persona.
