In the Register piece, after noting that in 2012 Perry “got his butt kicked,” Jacobs observed that in his fourth trip to Iowa in eight months, “there are signs Perry has rehabilitated himself to a certain extent since his 2012 presidential bid flopped,” echoing my impression after sitting down with him for an hour. The Texan seemed genuinely humbled by his disastrous 2011-12 bid; he had clearly underestimated the magnitude of the challenge of running for president and the reality that a White House bid is significantly greater in scale than running even in Texas, a state bigger and more populous that many countries.

I am now convinced that what seemed four years ago to be a lame excuse for his troubles—that he had undergone back surgery shortly before entering the presidential contest and was still taking painkillers as he undertook the bid—was more real than perceived. (My wife suffered a herniated disk three months ago, less than two weeks before our only daughter’s wedding; in all our 32 years of marriage, my conversations with her under the influence of Vicodin and Percocet were among the most memorable.) Undergoing the grueling process of running for president and engaging almost immediately in nationally televised debates while recovering from surgery and under the influence of painkillers would be enough of a handicap for anyone.

Since Perry’s 2012 debacle, many observers have tended to write off his chances. But whether one agrees with him or not, he seems to have enough raw talent, combined with the benefit of past experience, that blowing him off might be premature.