NYTimes
By JIM RUTENBERG and JEFF ZELENY

Perry Breaks With a Fellow Texan: Bush

On government spending, immigration and education, Mr. Perry’s criticisms of Mr. Bush have given him cachet with conservatives, especially with Tea Party voters who blame the former president for allowing spending and the reach of government to grow rapidly.
AUSTIN, Tex. — Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican contemplating a presidential run, shares many attributes with the last man who ran for president from here, his predecessor and onetime patron, George W. Bush. He has the same straight-legged Texas swagger; the down-home, clipped speaking style; the desert-baked conservatism.

But in recent years, Mr. Perry has broken politically with Mr. Bush, questioning his credentials as a fiscal conservative, accusing him of going on “a big-government bingeâ€