from forbes.com

Politico is reporting that Texas Governor Rick Perry will all but announce his candidacy for President in South Carolina on Saturday.  The fact that he’s planning to run isn’t exactly a secret, but lots of candidates get right to the edge of the pool and never jump in.  This suggests he’s already in mid-air. 

The interesting thing to watch over the next 30 days is what happens to Michelle Bachmann’s numbers.  They will determine whether this will become a two way race, Romney-Perry, or a three-way-race, Romney-Bachmann-Perry. No one will be watching the Minnesota congresswoman’s numbers more closely than Mitt Romney’s people, who will be rooting for Perry and Bachmann to divide the Evangelical and Tea Party vote.  The only other unknown factor still out there is Sarah Palin.  Will she or won’t she?  Most people are betting at this point she won’t.