According to this RealClearPolitics.com headline, 'Rick Perry Presidential Push Quietly Gains Steam,' and the accompanying story, Rick Perry is probably maybe putting out feelers for a possible 2012 run! It's a rumor that's been floated before. Please let this one be true:

A Texas pol who is close to Perry has been telling a few key strategists that the nation's longest-serving governor sees a vacuum and is waiting to be summoned into the race. This source believes that could happen by late summer. Without fellow Southerners Haley Barbour or Mike Huckabee in the race — and with Newt Gingrich's early troubles raising further doubts about the current lineup — there could be a glaring niche for Perry to fill.

"Glaring niche" is right — what we really need in the 2012 race is a secessionist.