AUSTIN — Bolstered by heightened visibility after his commanding re-election victory, Gov. Rick Perry hit the national talk show circuit Thursday to promote his newly released book but again insisted that he has no interest in running for president two years from now.
Through its 220 pages, Fed Up! restates many of the anti-Washington themes that helped contribute to Perry's double-digit victory over Democrat Bill White, the former mayor of Houston, in Tuesday's election. The re-election triumph resurrected speculation that the state's longest-serving governor may have his eyes on the White House.
But in an interview with Meredith Vieira, co-host of NBC's Today show, the 60-year-old Republican governor emphatically dismissed suggestions that the book release might be aimed at stoking national attention for a presidential run. Vieira pointed out that Barack Obama and George W. Bush both published books at the outset of their presidential campaigns.
"So you don't see any scenario where the party may come to you and say, 'We need you in 2012,' and you would accept?" Vieira asked.
"I don't see that scenario -- at all," Perry responded.
"But if they did?" Vieira persisted.
Read the complete story at star-telegram.com