The Texas governor began his presidential bid citing divine intervention, but maybe he was misinterpreting the signs from above

Rick Perry, who in the glare of television lights could not remember the third federal agency he wants to eliminate, has made no secret of his belief that God has signaled support for his White House bid. It would be interesting to know what he thinks caused this extraordinary lapse in memory, certain to serve as a warning to all future candidates. Perry has been more than willing to cite higher authority in his campaign for the nation's highest office. Said the Texas governor in mid-July: "I'm not ready to tell you that I'm ready to announce that I'm in ... but I'm getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I've been called to do. This is what America needs."

Earlier in the year, at a May fundraiser in Longview, Texas, Perry told a group of businessmen and women, "At 27 years old, I knew that I had been called to the ministry. I've just always been really stunned by how big a pulpit I was gonna have. I still am. I truly believe with all my heart that God has put me in this place at this time to do his will."

If you accept the idea that individuals can interpret God's views toward their political ambitions, the available evidence suggests that Perry got it all wrong. From the word go, the signals have been of Biblical proportion -- but they are nearly all downright negative. Throughout the summer months, as Perry first considered and then decided to run for the White House, Texas turned into a hellhole. For example: this evocative map of the country produced by the U.S. Drought Monitor lends itself to the interpretation that a terrible punishment has been inflicted on the state Perry was brought up in and which he now governs.