Rick Perry: Sarah Palin Has "The Type of Leadership America Expects"

Via the Dallas Morning News' Trailblazers blog, we see Texas Governor Rick Perry heaping praise upon former Vice Presidential candidate and current Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the run-up to the Republican Governors Association meeting that begins today:

Sarah Palin has been the focus of some sniping within GOP. But Gov. Rick Perry says when she shows up today at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting, she "is going to be treated like a returning hero."

"We know her, we've known her better and longer than any of those folks out there," the Texas governor told Fox News Wednesday. "We respect her. We support her. And she is reflective of the type of leadership that America expects from American governors."

So take that anonymous Palin critics within the McCain camp, who've targeted the Alaska governor as one reason for John McCain's loss. Perry is the outgoing president of the RGA, which is meeting in Miami. Palin, who's seen by some as the future of the party, is scheduled to chair a roundtable on the future of the Republican Party and will hold a news conference.

I don't know whether to be insulted that my Governor (who didn't manage to break 40% support in the last Governor's race) feels that I think that Sarah Palin is emblematic of the leadership I expect or pleased as punch that anyone in the Republican leadership takes her opinion about the future of the Republican Party seriously. It's probably a bit of both.