Perry keeps close to tea party roots on California trip

On the morning after the debate, I sat with two nice GOP women as we baked in the sun and waited for Gov. Rick Perry to show up at his event at an upscale garden center. Both said they like Perry and Mitt Romney. Both said they’ll vote for the one with the best chance of beating President Barack Obama.

“I just want to beat the man,” Peggy Kane, 77, told me.

The other woman agreed, saying Obama “needs to be beat.” She didn’t want to say much else because she is kind of famous. She is Alice Zamboni, daughter-in-law of Frank Zamboni. If you’re a hockey fan, that’s all you need to know. If you’re not, don’t worry about it.

For Perry, folks like these women are crucial as November electability becomes an issue as the GOP race narrows to a Perry-Romney battle.

“We’ve got our differences,” Perry, talking about the GOP field, told the crowd Thursday. But, he added, “the point is we need to have a nominee that doesn’t blur the lines between themselves and the current resident of the White House.”

Read More at statesman.com By Ken Herman, statesman.com