Should Texans Bill Gov. Rick Perry for Running for President?

According to the Associated Press, Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently billed the federal goverment nearly $350 million "to cover the costs he says Texas has incurred incarcerating illegal immigrants in state prisons and county jails."

His invoicing letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano "was dated Aug. 10, three days before the Republican governor formally announced he is running for president," the AP noted.

Meanwhile, Texas is in the midst of an economic and public school crisis, unemployment is up and the state is being hammered by extreme drought and growing water shortages.

Instead of staying in the state and providing serious, hands-on leadership in these matters, Gov. Perry recently announced that he is running for President of the United States. Now he is traveling to other states, at some expense to Texas, so he can extol his "Texas miracle" (which lately has taken on many aspects of "mirage," some critics say). He has moved coast to coast raising campaign funds, shaking hands and making shoot-from-the-hip statements and charges that quickly have had to be "walked back" by his handlers.

So, the question now is, should Texans bill their governor for the state money he is spending outside the state and insist that he come back home, deal with the current emergencies and prove he can resurrect his alleged "miracle" right here where he was elected to serve?

For now, Gov. Rick Perry is the GOP front runner du jour. However, many Texans expect his campaign to implode quickly once the novelty of his running wears off and the realities of his state political record are seen in the glare of the national spotlights.

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C-130 Pilot vs. Commander in Chief

I'm not buying Texas Gov. Rick Perry's contention that he is more "military" than President Obama. Yes, Mr. Obama was a community organizer, and he did not serve a tour of duty in any of the U.S. armed forces. And yes, Capt. Perry flew Air Force C-130 transport planes. By the way, thank you for your service, Governor.

Still, there's nothing more "military" than being the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marines, and the U.S. Coast Guard. You head all five branches at once, and you deal daily with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon and assorted military advisors.

You make decisions that send thousands of men and women into harm's way. You also make other life-and-death decisions that far exceed a pilot's responsibilities to a C-130 flight crew or squadron. For example, you give the final go/no-go decision on whether or not to invade a supposed ally's airspace and territory to kill or capture a major leader of international terrorism. You try to convince allies to stay the course as you wind down two unpopular wars you inherited mid-battle. You make repeated trips to Dover Air Force Base  to witness and salute the flag-covered coffins coming home from combat operations and overseas accidents. You try to comfort the families of those who lost sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers or sisters in operations that you okayed. And you try to decide which defense programs or military operations should continue and which can be curtained to meet both dwindling economic resources and dwindling political and popular support. Oh, and you stay prepared to launch nuclear-tippped missiles in response to an attack on the United States or key allies.

In my view, President Barack Obama has now garnered one hell of a lot more overall military experience than any ex-C-130 pilot currently seeking the Republican nomination.

-- Si Dunn