Rick Perry might want to reconsider his threat that if Ben Bernanke shows up in Texas it'll get "pretty ugly"

Brad Plumer at WaPo "Wonkblog":

Turns out Rick Perry’s “Texas Miracle” owes much of its success to... Ben Bernanke. A new research paper from the Dallas Fed finds that Texas has rebounded from recession faster than the rest of the country thanks, in no small part, to actions by the U.S. Federal Reserve. (Yep, the same central bank that Perry occasionally deems “almost treasonous.”)

The Dallas Fed economists, David Luttrell and Harvey Rosenblum, observe that the Fed’s monetary stimulus appears to have packed a bigger wallop in Texas than in other regions of the country. But why should that be? One theory is that Texas’ banking system was in better shape because of regulations put in place after the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. Regulations on mortgage finance and lack of zoning restrictions also meant Texas didn’t really suffer through a housing bubble…

The authors also note that the Fed’s moves to weaken the dollar disproportionately benefited Texas. “A weaker dollar spurs exports, and Texas is the country’s largest exporter, comprising almost one-sixth of the nation’s total by origin of movement,” they wrote…

(T)he Fed’s “extraordinary monetary and fiscal policy intervention” appears to have given Texas — and, by extension, Perry’s presidential prospects — a big lift.

Of course, this is a critique of Perry that's probably a bit too driven by matching his phony claims to reality to matter much in GOP circles. After a couple of weeks as the rising star among right-wing nuts, Perry's presidential prospects actually seem to be sinking.  After stumbling through his last debate, the Perry hat-in-the-ring "miracle" has worn thin, even with the GOP's hard-core base and their faithful punditry and "news" team at FOX.  The ultra-serious Brit Hume proclaimed that the Governor "really did throw up all over himself" as a debater and Bill Kristol judged his performance "disqualifying."

Rick Perry a blithering idiot who is not ready for prime time?  Who could have seen that coming?