Rick Perry, the Yell Leader, dropped his pom poms in the Presidential campaign on Thursday. There was a debate Thursday evening and many speculate that he just couldn’t face one more debate.

The Yell Leader’s foray into national politics didn’t go as he expected. Having never lost a race in Texas, he was unprepared for the extreme competition and fickleness of national voters.

His campaign launched beautifully and was perfectly orchestrated. It sent his numbers flying upward in the polls almost immediately. As long as his consultants were in control, he was on a roll.

Alas, the one thing consultants cannot do for a candidate is debate in their place. Though they can spend hours prepping them, training them and messaging for them, they cannot take the stage on their behalf. Debates are basically every consultant’s nightmare. One misstatement or slip can turn a campaign.

This was the case with candidate Yell Leader. His cheers and “aw shucks” manners did not serve him well among the highly competitive debate format. The more voters were able to watch the unfettered Perry address them, the more they turned away. While they liked the pictures and images of the candidate, they could not respect him.

For the first time in his political career, he had to face the music. During his campaign against Bill White for Governor, he refused to debate and refused to meet with Editorial Boards. He basically avoided any event or activity that would have him directly addressing voters.

Now, our Yell Leader comes home to Texas with little cheer left in him. We may hope that this has been a humbling experience for him and that maybe he will have learned some things from his national journey.

As he comes back to govern, let’s hope that he listens a little more and experiences some empathy with Texans and the many challenges we are facing in our state.

And alas, let’s be thankful that Texas’ performance in all areas of policy will not be the topic of the Presidential campaign.

Our state can continue to grow our economy, create jobs and attract new business without the nation scrutinizing every aspect of our policies. That’s a good thing.

Welcome home Governor. Now get back to work!