Having had the chance to see him up close and personal, I can safely say that Texas Gov. Rick Perry can command a room. Unfortunately, I can't comment on his question answering ability.

Perry, 61, is now contemplating a run for the presidency. I had the chance to hear him speak last September when attending the annual meeting of the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW) in Dallas.

Entering the room, his was a big Texas gait, the steps long and shoulders turning with each stride. He quickly worked the room, shaking hands and patting shoulders. Perry seemed more to jump than step up to the platform where the podium was perched for his speech. Even then there was plenty of speculation that Perry would seek the Republican nomination in the 2012 presidential election.

Smiling and confident, he tossed out a couple of jokes and welcomed us all to Texas. Then, referencing the speculation about potential presidential aspirations, Perry assured those of us with our pens perched above paper that he wasn't about to lay out the basis for a White House campaign. After all, he said, who could have a better job than governor of the great state of Texas?

Perry then proceeded to make the kind of anti-big government, anti-Washington argument that would be part of his presidential campaign stump speech should he run.

"Perpetuating the growth of government is not some irrefutable force of nature," said Perry in a voice loud enough to make the microphone he was using superfluous. "Our citizens need a break from Washington excesses."

There was no applause, of course. A room of editorial writers, representing political proclivities from the right to left, is not one to applaud political rhetoric. But I suspect that line will do well in VFW halls and school auditoriums in red states should Perry go for it.

A former cotton farmer, former Air Force captain and former Democrat who in 1988 directed Al Gore's Texas primary race, Perry converted to the Republican Party in 1989 and has continued to move right ever since.

His frequent references to the Tenth Amendment, "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution … are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people," make him popular with the tea party crowd. They love that Perry refused to compete for billions of dollars in federal education grants because, he says, he won't tolerate Washington telling Texas how to run its schools.

More recently Perry signed a Texas law that would continue to allow the sale of energy gobbling, inefficient incandescent light bulbs produced by Texas manufacturers. A 2007 federal law, signed by President George W. Bush, the man Perry followed as governor, requires that in 2012 lights must meet a new level of energy efficiency. Bush saw it as part of the plan to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Perry sees it as a violation of state rights. A court case is possible.

Perry is a strong social conservative as well, opposing legalized abortion, same-sex marriage and overt in mixing his political message with his Christian theology, approaches that would make it difficult to win in Northeast and west coast states.

During his speech to the editorial writers, Perry focused largely on the Texas economy, which continued to grow through the Great Recession, a success he attributes to low taxes, light regulation, aggressive recruitment and tort reform that limits damages and makes it more difficult to sue corporations and institutions. The Texas economy will be sure to be a Perry centerpiece if he runs.

Critics, however, say Perry has mortgaged the future to keep taxes artificially low. Texas ranks near the bottom in high-school graduation rates. Schools, particularly in lower-income districts, are often in poor shape and lacking in text books and supplies. Parks and public services suffer to keep taxes low.

My lasting impression from Perry's appearance was not a good one. Done talking, he refused to take any questions. It is standard operating procedure for politicians and other officials addressing the organization of opinion writers to take questions. Convention organizers said they told Perry's staff in advance to expect questions.

Tom Waseleski, the president of the NCEW, later wrote to Perry about being "stunned and disappointed," noting that while Perry claimed not to have time for questions, he managed an extended interview in front of TV cameras in the hallway.

"This is an affront to any notion of civil discourse," wrote Waseleski. "If you had hoped to make a positive impression on this national press group, I must tell you that you have utterly failed."

During his most recent run for governor, Perry refused to sit down with the editorial boards of newspapers in Texas.

It makes me wonder what a Perry presidential campaign might look like. In the modern political age, candidates for president must expect to answer plenty of tough media questions. Perhaps Perry will try to be the first to avoid them. That would be a marvel more impressive than the Texas economy.

Paul Choiniere is editorial page editor.