A Houston Chronicle writer suggests that political consultants were a driving force in persuadign Governor Perry to run for presdient, not necessarily because they though he coudl win, or be a good president, but because they saw it was a great way to make alot of money:
From a consultant's perspective . . . a Perry presidential campaign "is retirement. This is a get-rich deal." Landing such a contract is better than one's ship coming in, Miller said: "It's, my ship is docked."
Campaign consulting is big business. According to a study of the 2004 election cycle by the Center for Public Integrity, national political candidates paid $1.78 billion to campaign consultants. Of that, $1.2 billion "went to media-buying consultants who handle ads." Most of that money pays for commercial airtime, the study noted, "but buried in those reported sums are the percentage-based commissions that consultants keep."