From Politico’s Alexander Burns:
Instead of changing direction in response to Perry’s announcement, the Romney camp is hewing close to its existing strategy: focusing on the economy, continuing to attack President Barack Obama and increasingly touting the private-sector record that they say sets Romney apart from his newly declared opponent. …
The view among Romney backers is that the former Massachusetts governor has a few assets that still distinguish him from Perry. Chief among those are his business background — leading the investment firm Bain Capital and the consultancy Bain & Co. — and his track record of winning political swing voters.
Perry, on the other hand, has held public office for most of his adult life and has never competed in a state that wasn’t deeply conservative.