Gov. Perry at the Iowa Republican Presidential Forum on Manufacturing.

Perry plans to end federal ethanol subsidies, by the way.

Texas governor and Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry participated in a Presidential manufacturing forum today in Pella, Iowa (hosted by the Vermeer Corporation): and it’s pretty interesting viewing.

(The entire forum (and transcript) can be seen here.)

Governor Perry answered questions from both the moderators and the audience: if I had to sum up fifteen minutes of informed, fairly specific commentary in one sentence it would be “The single largest problem that the USA is facing in terms of job and economic growth is our own regulatory climate.”  Perry was obviously relaxed and confident throughout the proceedings, which leads me to wonder whether a large part of his past public appearance issues have been due to lingering pain from his recent back surgery.  Certainly he was knowledgeable and engaging throughout this particular event.

Continue reading Gov. Perry at the Iowa Republican Presidential Forum on Manufacturing.