Perry holsters rhetoric

On first impression, Perry is likable - more so, if you forget his shoot-from-the-lip ideology, along with what the Wall Street Journal describes as his “muscular religiosity.’’ Perry’s problem: In a presidential contest, no one forgets when a candidate uses the word “treasonous’’ to describe the head of the Federal Reserve, or overlooks it when that candidate signs an official proclamation calling for prayer to bring on rain in Texas. But for now, Perry’s likability is a real problem for Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

Perry’s announcement that he is in the presidential race elbowed both Romney and Bachmann off center stage, and pushed them down in the polls. The breakfast showed he is off to a serious start. The room was packed, but the crowd was cool. The governor, looking Back Bay buttoned-down in a gray suit and striped shirt, read the vibe perfectly. He ditched some of the swagger and just worked the “Yes, Ma’am’’ twang.

Focusing on the economy and President Obama’s handling of it, he offered a simple, standard, business-friendly message to a standard business crowd. It’s familiar conservative dogma: less spending, lower taxes, and reduced regulation are the answer to the country’s economic woes. Romney offers a similar message, mostly from the vantage point of his past private-sector experience. Perry frames his more in the context of his experience as governor.

Perry didn’t back down from earlier harsh rhetoric concerning Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and how Texans might treat him “pretty ugly.’’ But he didn’t recycle that inflammatory rhetoric, either. Instead, he called for greater transparency from the Federal Reserve to show that the bank was not engaging in improper actions. The Dodd-Frank financial reform act, which was passed a year ago, calls for similar scrutiny.