Perry's New Campaign Pitch: "I'm a Doer, Not a Talker"

UPDATE: While much of the political attention is focused elsewhere, Rick Perry is continuing his efforts to pull his presidential campaign back on course beginning with Iowa.

"I'm a doer, not a talker," the Texan declares in his second television ad of his presidential campaign, which, like the first one, is airing first in Iowa media markets.

For the second time in as many TV spots, Perry opts for a more traditional route than the one his campaign laid out this summer with a pair of Web videos that came complete with Hollywood-caliber production values. But unlike his first television ad, which was released last week and avoided criticizing any of his rivals, the GOP hopeful takes a not-so-subtle swipe at President Obama this time around.

"If you’re looking for a slick politician or a guy with great Teleprompter skills, we already have that and he’s destroying our economy," Perry says in the ad, which strikes a generally upbeat tone. "I’m a doer, not a talker. In Texas, we created 40 percent of the new jobs in the entire country since June of 2009. We cut a record $15 billion from our state budget."

[Slate's John Dickerson explains why Perry is playing nice here.]

You can watch the ad (which was first obtained by the New York Times) below:

POST Wednesday, Oct. 26: Rick Perry has unveiled his first television ad of his presidential campaign and, somewhat surprisingly, the one-time GOP frontrunner is starting things out on a positive note.

"As president I’ll create at least two-and-a-half million new jobs, and I know something about that," the Texas governor says in the ad, which will begin airing in Iowa on Wednesday. "In Texas we’ve created over one million new jobs while the rest of the nation lost over two million."

The 30-second spot is noteworthy for a few reasons, chief among them is Perry's decision to opt for a more traditional route than the one his campaign team appeared to lay out with a pair of headline-grabbing Web videos from earlier this year. Gone (for now, at least) are the Hollywood-caliber production values, the ominous score and the attacking tone that had dubbed President Obama "President Zero" and blasted Mitt Romney for the health care law he signed as governor of Massachusetts.

A Perry spokesman told the New York Times that the new ad is part of campaign’s effort to refocus its message where it believes Perry is strongest: his record on job creation while governor. "Governor Perry’s new TV ad signals two priorities, American job creation and the families of Iowa," said Ray Sullivan, the campaign’s communication’s director. He added that it "underscores Rick Perry’s commitment to sparking millions of new jobs and his record as America’s jobs governor."

Watch the TV ad below:

And, for comparison, here's Perry's "President Zero" Web video: