We're number 26 in employment! And 47th in education! With a huge debt to boot!

Just having a little fun with all the hype surrounding a certain Presidential candidate who announced yesterday.

But that is his record as Texas Governor: 26th in employment, 47th in education, and a debt that has grown faster than the federal debt. (From 2001 to 2010, it grew from $13.4 billion to $37.8 billion. That's an increase of 281 percent. The federal government's has "only" grown 234 percent in the same time frame.)

I'm sold.

#withNewt

Newt picks up Joe Barton's (R-TX) endorsement

Barton joins three from Georgia's U.S. House delegation -- Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, and Tom Price -- in endorsing Gingrich.

Barton is another Republican from Texas who is supporting Newt. Two members of Texas Governor's Rick Perry's 2010 re-election campaign -- Rob Johnson and Dave Carney -- will be Gingrich's campaign manager and top New Hampshire consultant, respectively.

Newt's new campaign manager's views on social media

From an article a month before the 2010 election, when Rob Johnson was Rick Perry's campaign manager:

Campaign staffers and Perry himself are quick to point out that the governor's not exactly hurting for name recognition. So instead of plastering the state with Perry's name on stickers and yard signs, says campaign manager Rob Johnson, the staff is leaning heavily on the new online tools.

"We don't have paid headquarters in towns across the state," Johnson said. "We don't have physical offices. We don't do any of those annoying auto-dialers. We're depending completely, entirely, on social networks and personal contact, rather than the traditional way of doing things that most people say you have to do to win campaigns. (The governor) has embraced this technology and embraced these social platforms. We follow his lead."

Dave Carney of New Hampshire "to be heavily involved" in Newt's campaign

While calling Carney a "major player," Politico writes:

Carney, the former White House political director under George H.W. Bush, confirmed Friday what's long been widely rumored in New Hampshire political circles. After helping out with Gingrich's exploratory committee, he's planning to be heavily involved in the coming campaign, he said in an interview.

Carney said he believes Gingrich is the right man for the moment.

"I think we need big ideas," he said. "Now is the time for a big idea campaign. We're not going to win on micro issues or silly issues. We need big reforms, big ideas, a person who has a track record of big ideas."

A longtime ally of the Sununu family, Carney was Bob Dole's top consultant in 1996 and currently serves as the top political adviser to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. He's been spotted ushering Gingrich around New Hampshire in recent months.

Asked whether he believed Gingrich could win the presidency, Carney said, "Anybody can win." Americans, he said, are eager to toss out the Obama administration.

"Democrats are totally clueless when it comes to the middle of America, the flyover states," Carney said. "They just don't get it. That's why."

Rick Perry's Campaign Manager and top Political Consultant on Newt's team

From the Statesman:

Rob Johnson, who managed Gov. Rick Perry’s 2010 re-election campaign, has signed on with Newt Gingrich as Gingrich explores whether to run for president.

Johnson, 36, will be a senior political adviser for Gingrich, who for months has been nearing a presidential bid.

...

He’s not the only member of Perry’s circle who is mixing in with Gingrich’s. Dave Carney, the New Hampshire-based operative who is Perry’s top political consultant, is helping the Gingrich team arrange events in the Granite State.

"The potential opportunity to run a top-tier presidential campaign is an acknowledgment of Rob’s extensive experience and leadership in putting together winning campaigns," Perry said in a statement.

Matt Lewis writes:

Perry ran a superb campaign in 2010, so this strikes me as a good "get" for Gingrich.

But this news also seems to make it clear (if it wasn’t already) that Perry is definitely not running for president.

It also makes me wonder if Perry might eventually endorse Gingrich for president.

Gingrich wrote the foreword for Perry's book, Fed Up.

(Updated 5/6: Johnson is now Newt's campaign manager.)