Perry in Manchester: 2016 a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ election

MANCHESTER - The 2016 contest for president is a 'show me, don't tell me” election, Republican hopeful Rick Perry said during a campaign stop Sunday in Manchester.

And the former Texas governor told about four dozen people he has plenty to show them about creating jobs, balancing budgets, improving schools and securing the border.

Perry repeatedly reminded his audience that during the recession, 1.5 million jobs were created in Texas, and about one-third of all new jobs created were in the Lone Star state. High school graduation rates jumped from 27th to second among the states despite a diverse student population that included many whose first language was not English.

He took the state budget from a $10 billion shortfall to an $8 billion surplus in less than two years, Perry said. And when the federal government couldn't secure the Texas-Mexico border, Perry used the National Guard and state agencies to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants.

Impressive, Democrat Mark Luensmann of Manchester said, 'but it's always what they leave out.”

He was surprised that Perry didn't offer his Iowa audience specifics about agriculture policy 'rather than an emotional appeal.”

Perry did note that not only is he the only presidential candidate with a degree in agriculture, but 'I've spent more time on a John Deere tractor seat than any one of them.”

Perry is polling in low single digits and was not included in the GOP debate among the top 10 polling candidates last week. However, he said 'nobody on that stage, nobody running for president, has the record I have.”

'I have the chief executive officer experience of running the 12th-largest economy,” he said. 'Isn't that what we want? Isn't that experience important?”

Seven years ago, Americans 'took a chance on a young U.S. senator … and we're praying, paying - we're praying too - but we're paying a substantial price in our economy and on the world stage.”

Perry asked for his audience's support, telling them that if he wins Iowa, 'we're on our way to winning the presidency.”

Bruce Nieman of Manchester liked most of what he heard but wasn't ready to commit to Perry.

'There's way too many people and way too much time” before the Feb. 1 caucuses to make a decision, he said.

Larry Swanson, also of Manchester, said Perry seems presidential and probably wasn't hurt in Iowa by not being included in the debate.

'But if he doesn't move up and get in the next debate, it might be more serious,” Swanson said.