Gov. Rick Perry Speaks to Michigan GOP on Mackinac Island: “No other Candidate on that Stage has the Record that I Have. . .I Will Guide this Country with a Deep, Deep Rudder” – Video 9/24/11

Here is video of Gov. Rick Perry addressing the Michigan GOP’s Republican Leadership Conference today on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Perry made the case that his record of job creation is “the record of change” needed to oppose and defeat President Barack Obama’s “rhetoric of change.” Perry told the crowd that no other candidate has the record that he has of success in job creation.

Perry said Republicans need to nominate someone who will draw “clear lines” of distinction with Barack Obama, and said the candidate with the “best record” and “vision” should be the nominee – not the “slickest candidate” or the “smoothest debater.” That has become a standard line for Perry in the two days since his widely criticized performance in the GOP Debate in Orlando, Florida. Perry told them “I will guide this country with a deep, deep rudder,” and seek to make “Washington D.C. as inconsequential in your life as possible.”

Perry was speaking in strong Mitt Romney territory. Romney’s father, George Romney, was the governor of Michigan, and Romney won the 2008 Michigan GOP Primary. Mitt Romney will speak at the same event tonight as the featured speaker during the Dinner Program.