Texas Gov. Perry announces presidential bid

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (2ndL) waves to the audience with his family after announcing he will run for the Republican presidential nomination in Charleston, South Carolina.



WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- Texas Governor Rick Perry on Saturday announced he is to run for the office of U.S. president in an appearance in early-voting state South Carolina.



Speaking in front of a conservative crowd in Charleston, Perry touted his economic achievements in Texas, which has a net gain of more than one million new jobs in the decade he has led the state. Perry succeeded George W. Bush after the latter won the White House.



The three-term Republican governor also directed criticism at President Barack Obama, casting him as a failure of leadership who has diminished the standing of the United States as well as its economic prospects. He promised to cut spending, limit the size of the federal government and repeal the healthcare reform, Obama's signature achievement, if he is to be elected into the White House.



Perry's announcement came hours before results are due from an important test poll between GOP candidates in Iowa, stealing the show from participants in the Iowa Straw Poll such as Representative Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty. Mitt Romney, the presumed front-runner of the GOP field, didn't enter the Iowa contest.



The announcement by Perry has been anticipated for weeks, if not months, as the wave of conservatism grasps the Republican party. Even before the announcement, polls have placed the unapologetic conservative as one of the front runners among the Republican candidates, posing direct threat to Romney, whose conservative credentials are undermined by the healthcare reform in Massachusetts when he was governor there.



Perry's policies and style are also in stark contrast with Obama. He is a gun-enthusiast, and presided over a low-tax, low-service, low-regulation model for the Lone Star State. A recent poll suggests Obama has a slight edge over him in voter support.

Texas Governor Rick Perry speaks during the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana June 18, 2011.



(Reuters)