Bill Clinton 'Tickled' To See Rick Perry Enter Race For President (VIDEO)

Former president Bill Clinton says that he's "tickled" to see Texas Governor Rick Perry enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Lone Star State Republican declared his candidacy for president of the United States during a stop in South Carolina over the weekend. The New York Observer reports that Clinton said he "got tickled" by watching the announcement while speaking at a fire fighter’s conference in the Big Apple on Monday. He quipped, "He’s a good looking rascal."

Meanwhile, Perry says that he hopes he's "President Obama’s worst nightmare." The Texas governor made the assertion while speaking to Fox News' Carl Cameron in Iowa on Monday.

"He’s the real problem," Perry suggested. "It’s his policies. It’s his EPA administrator. It’s his people he has put in place that are strangling America with the regulations and the debt. Americans have had enough."

The newly-minted Republican candidate also explained how he differentiates himself from former president George W. Bush.

“They’re not all carbon copies in Texas," explained Perry. "I tell people that one of the quick ways you can tell the difference is he is a Yale graduate and I’m a Texas A&M graduate. But the fact is, it doesn’t matter where you’re from. The next President of the United States, what state you’re from doesn’t matter. What matters is what is in their heart, what’s in their mind. What’s in my mind and what’s in my heart is we are going to get America working again.”

Perry recently told Time magazine that he reached out to Bush early in his decision-making process on whether or not to vie for the White House. According to Carrie Dan at NBC News, the GOP hopeful said on Monday that the country needs a president who is "in love with America."

While speaking to Fox News, Perry also shared his take on rival Republican presidential contenders U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

The Texas governor called Bachmann "a ball of fire." The pair of candidates crossed paths in Iowa on Sunday night; however, the Associated Press reports that they never met face-to-face at the Hawkeye State gathering.

"She came in after we had been there for about an hour and a half," Perry said. "But anyway, we’ll meet and we’ll have a good chance to shake and howdy and I’ll get to know her even better."

Perry also sought to draw a contrast between himself and Romney.

“I say, look at the record," he explained. "Look at the record of Massachusetts while he was the Governor there. Look at the record of Texas while I’ve been the Governor there. We created more jobs than any other state in the nation -- from June of 2009 until present, 40 percent of all the jobs in America. Nobody in this race can say that."

Asked by CNN about a mild jab Romney took at Perry on the heels of his presidential announcement, the Texas governor reportedly blew a kiss and said, "Give him my love."

Comments

[waynesmyer]

05:44 AM on 08/19/2011

Why do Texicans always pick the dumbest SOOB they can find to run for Presunator??
p.s. I miss Molly Ivans and W Lee "Pappy" O'Daniels

[jeffp26]

10:29 PM on 08/17/2011

So Bill Clinton has the hots for Perry?

[scottishboy]

12:27 PM on 08/17/2011

Is that tickled or tingling?

[KingCashio]

12:06 PM on 08/17/2011

Perry is so "in love with Amurka" that he just a few short month back wanted to divorce her. What a fraud this clown is.

[Pelican1983]

05:51 AM on 08/17/2011

OK, here's the situation....

Obama is toast.

The GOP runners suck.

Primetime for the Clintons to get back at Obama for what they feel was Hillary's place as President.


Hillary will challenge Obama for the Democratic nomination and she will win.

She will be President in 2012.

I have spoken.

[canobserv]

10:16 AM on 08/17/2011

you may have spoken.....but that was quite a bit o' bull

[sheikwil4]

12:20 PM on 08/17/2011

you are a lunatic, Hillary lost and will not run again. You need to keep up, the Tea Party talking points have burnt your 2 brain cells.

[1stfrag]

04:20 AM on 08/17/2011

Oh great, now we can exchange a C student, (Bush) for a D student, (Perry). Aren't we lucky!

[Jeff Bunting]

12:17 AM on 08/17/2011

Its funny when people try to say no no Bush and Perry hate each other. Well see that doesn't mean that they aren't one and the same. Perry just wants to go more far to the right than Perry er I mean than Bush.

[lvdragonlady]

11:41 PM on 08/16/2011

No Rick, you are NOT any different the Bush and those that do their research will find this out.

[silverw32w]

10:34 PM on 08/16/2011

I am getting out of here, too much licking going on.

[silverw32w]

10:23 PM on 08/16/2011

I am sorry to tell you folks, but its not Bush not obama, , its me the American public who is the blame, we all have taken too much from the government, we lay around on our lazy butt, taking money from the government, welfare, food stamps, government taking care of our children, government taking care of our parents, government taking care of our health, government sending our children to collage, government taking care of young girls having baby's out of wed lock, I could go on and on, that is why we are 14 trillion dollars in debt, until we find a solution for all this government hand outs things are not going to get any better, in fact its going to get worse, if you find a politician who says he is going to fix these problems, vote for him, its going to be like a broken leg, its going to hurt a lot before it gets better. this is where its up to you if you want things to get better, we all are going to have too take a cut in our life style, and that means that if you get government help, you are going too get cut too, we all going too a little lower, so in the future we can get back to where we were., if we don't do this, than its dooms days for us.

[Luckie]

01:45 AM on 08/17/2011

You forgot to mention the wars. The military and the wars are costing us greatly, but you don't mention them.

[1stfrag]

04:17 AM on 08/17/2011

Wrong, the largest and most expensive socialist organization in the US is the military. An unemployed person who spends every day looking for work is not lazy. Pure capitalism is a flop, just like pure communism. We are not going to ever get back to where we were; we now have competition from China, Russia, Europe, South America, etc. We had it easy for 50 years following the end of WWII; that era is over and will not come back. We are going to have to lower our standard of living just like everybody else. Brave New World!

[silverw32w]

10:22 AM on 08/17/2011

I mention the things we could do to help our nation, but having a weak military is not one of them, the government is supposed to protect us from our enemy, in fact that's is the most important thing our government is supposed to do.

[Olethea]

10:15 PM on 08/16/2011

That jobs claim is only half true, and relies on a general lack of understanding about how job creation works and is measured.

http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2011/may/29/texas-public-policy-foundation/texas-public-policy-foundation-says-texas-created-/

[LamAng]

10:12 PM on 08/16/2011

GOP needs to start from scratch if they want to win 2012. The 2008 election, well they didn't seem to want to win - really McCain and Palin was there best then. Looks like they just wanted O to win that one. I thought Huntsman would be a good contender or someone like him. Please put someone who is really presidentiable (is that a real word?) this time.

[Ed Baggett]

10:11 PM on 08/16/2011

Has Bill Clinton lost his mind ? "He's a good lookin' rascal"......Please show some backbone Mr.Clinton...these tea-bagger repubs. are nothing to mess around with. Democrats are not fighters....they roll over & say...."wake me when it's over"...I hoped for more than laziness from them....but they appear to be DOA....Wake up before the tea-baggs push grandma, grandpa & the whole family into the ditch..........

[dporterdvd]

10:10 PM on 08/16/2011

Haven't we had enough of the Texas swagger.

Bush swaggered us into Iraq which has cost America 3 trillion dollars so far.

What if Perry swaggers us into Iran or North Korea?

[LamAng]

10:01 PM on 08/16/2011

"It’s his policies. It’s his EPA administrator. It’s his people he has put in place that are strangling America with the regulations and the debt. Americans have had enough." - was he referring to 1) his policies - meaning the continuation of Bush's policies. 2) EPA administrator - that didn't do anything about BP's oil spill. 3) people he has put in place - was he referring to Bernanke, the one that Obama didn't replace that was inherited for the previous administration. And 4) Americans have had enough - that's why McCain and Palin lost - right? I think I'm getting used to translating what you actually mean.