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  Gov. Rick Perry Encounters String Of Setbacks
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ContributorDFWDem 
Last EditedDFWDem  Nov 12, 2009 09:24am
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News DateThursday, November 12, 2009 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionAUSTIN (AP) ― What should be Gov. Rick Perry's time to shine and shore up support for an unprecedented third term has turned lately into a series of missteps and accidents that are rare for such an experienced politician.

Whether they are coincidences, a show of uncharacteristic sloppiness by the Perry campaign or spin from the opposition, they seem to have given at least a temporary boost to challenger U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose aides note every Perry setback.

"It's like when it rains it pours," said Bill Miller, a consultant who works for neither candidate but whose company's political arm has contributed to Perry. He called Perry's recent problems a "plague of bad incidents" but said they don't signal a breakdown in Perry's usually disciplined campaign. "It kind of raises questions, and, really, the beneficiary is always the opponent."

Last month, Hutchison staffers videotaped the governor appearing to question whether Texas is in a recession. Perry says the quip, designed to get a laugh from a crowd of suburban Houston business leaders, was taken out of context when the Hutchison camp circulated it on YouTube.

Two weeks ago, his big campaign Web announcement fell prey to a technology meltdown, and many supporters couldn't tune in to watch; the Perry campaign says it was the work of a politically motivated computer hacker and the FBI is investigating.

And Perry's apparent attempts to keep his appointees in line during the campaign has been seen as heavy-handed. Perry drew criticism for replacing university regents who supported Hutchison and for replacing members of a forensic science commission who were about to examine evidence that suggests Texas may have executed an innocent man on Perry's watch.
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