Perry in Policy, Not Politics Mode

Gov. Rick Perry gave a "State of the State 2.0" speech to the Dallas Regional Chamber on Wednesday.

The trimmed-down speech focused more on Texas’ positive business climate, Perry’s plan to improve roads and fund some water projects with the Rainy Day Fund and his proposal for tax relief.

Perry said he wants to return some unused tax money to citizens.

"That money will do more good in the hands of taxpayers and the citizens of the state of Texas than it does sitting in a fund in Austin, Texas," Perry told reporters.

Perry's State of the State speech wasn’t filled with his usual anti-Washington talk, something that his speeches used to be known for in his lead up to his run for the presidency. He even called the president’s health care bill by its legal name, the Affordable Care Act, as opposed to "Obamacare."

"I thought it had the right tone, the right tenure," Perry said. "Listen, we talked about the president, and he was elected, and he wants us to have a successful country, and I said Texas stands ready to do our part. [Eds. note: The word "tenure" is in the original quote.]

New numbers from Public Policy Polling show that 62 percent of Texans surveyed want Perry to step aside instead of running for governor in 2014.

But when asked about the low poll numbers, Perry brushed them off.

"I have not spent a lot of time awake thinking about polls in the 12 years-plus I've been governor,
and I can assure you over the course of the years ahead, I won't be thinking about them either," he said. "I really don't pay attention to them. I kind of give them the same little tip of the hat that I gave in '09 when Sen. Hutchison was running and she was 25 points ahead."

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