“I think expectations would be low on his debate performances and if he was able to get himself into a position where he was studied and ready to go that would surprise a lot of people and enhance his chances,” said Matt Schlapp of Cove Strategies, who served as political director to President George W. Bush “I think he would also benefit from the fact that there is no obvious front runner in 2016, that he’s not a creature of Washington and obviously he benefits from the fact that he’s from one of the most important fundraising states that you need to conquer to get the nomination.”

Veteran Republican party operative Fred Malek agreed.

“Certainly he could recover from the debate gaffe as we’ve seen Bill Clinton recover from the lengthy speech that he gave as a keynoter of the national convention to become the nominee,” Malek said, referencing Clinton’s 1988 speech that went so long that he had to go on “The Tonight Show” to try to staunch the bleeding…

One of the strongest signs that Perry is looking beyond Texas for his post-governor life is the invites he has quietly been sending to influential businessmen, veteran political operatives and big-moneyed fundraisers to Austin for a series of dinners.