Longtime Republican campaign consultant, Mike Murphy, thinks that Governor Rick Perry may have a tough go beating Barack Obama in a 2012 General Election matchup.  Writing for Time, Murphy opines:

Anyone who watched Rick Perry destroy Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas gubernatorial primary last year should have no illusions; he knows how to win a GOP primary. Whether Perry can win a general election or not is another matter. Most senior GOP strategists have major concerns about running a twangy Christian conservative Texan as the party's nominee against even a weakened Barack Obama. Count me among them.

Ah, those unnamed senior GOP strategists that writers like Murphy are so fond of citing.  Most of those anonymous Republican strategists are Washington-based, meaning, they can be more than a little myopic and insular in their outlook.  And being Washington strategists, they likely have their own agendas, which may or may not dovetail with a favorable opinion of Governor Perry's chances against President Obama. 

And do we detect a snide hint in Murphy's comment about "running a twangy Christian conservative Texan as the party's nominee against even a weakened Barack Obama."

Jeepers.  That sounds like a DNC talking point.  Time should insist that their contributors not be so hackneyed.  Trotting out the "twangy Christian conservative Texan" line is so David Axelrod.      

As to the bigger point, Rick Perry can certainly beat Barack Obama come November 2012.  The reasons?  A stagnant and manifestly deteriorating economy.  A jobs picture that's bad and may well worsen.  A volatile stock market.  Uncle Sam's stupefying debt.  Senseless, skyrocketing government spending.   The ObamaCare overreach. 

Shall we continue? 

Oh, and if the economy's bad presently, what condition will it be in come November 2012?  Think more of Mr. Obama's policies will suddenly and miraculously fix things?  Doesn't that thinking satisfy the definition of insanity? 

In 2012, if voters have had enough of Barack Obama - a good bet - and believe Rick Perry can tame government and free the economy, Governor Perry will win the presidency. 

Then we'll hear from Mike Murphy that all those unnamed senior Republican strategists thought so all along.