In advance of his speech at the Red State forum this Saturday, where he is widely expected to announce that he’s running for the WH, Rick Perry in a just-released interview with Time’s Mark Halperin,  says that he “wants to be president.”

OK, it’s not that we didn’t know that already.

But consider..there are hundreds of political journalists who would have loved this “get”..the first big national media sit-down with the newest star of  the GOP primary season. So, why Mark Halperin?

Halperin’s a pretty good guy, reasonably straight shooter, and a decent writer. But I could rattle off the names of several dozen more who’d be a better choice, and probably inclinded to give a more favorable interview. Hey it still is TIME, after all.

But there’s no one else around who was recently suspended for calling Obama a “D*ck” on a cable show.

Halperin just returned from his enforced extended vacation, and this is his first major piece since then.

Wonder how many times he’ll be asked if Perry is also a “d*ck?”

Nice touch, governor….a warning shot across the bow I’d say..