Is Rick Perry the guy?

There are certainly a lot of people who think so after last week's performance at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

He fired up the crowd with statements such as these:

-- "We've got the wind at our back right now. Americans are waking up to the realities of their previous choices. We must keep America moving back to preeminence because our values and conservative ideas are the world's greatest hope."

-- "When it comes to conservative social issues, it saddens me when sometimes my fellow Republicans duck and cover under pressure from the left. Let's speak with pride about our morals and our values and redouble our efforts to elect more conservative Republicans. Let's stop this downward American spiral."

-- "I stand before you today as a disciplined, conservative Texan, a committed Republican and a proud American, united with you in the desire to restore our nation and revive the American dream."

You can see move coverage on his speech here.