Perry, Paul play up their military service in South Carolina

WASHINGTON - Until now, one part of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's life story that didn't get much attention in early voting states was his five years as an Air Force pilot.That's changed as the focus has shifted to South Carolina, a military-centric state with seven major bases, more than 38,000 active duty members and a concentration of veterans. The South Carolina primary is next Saturday, Jan. 21."You can't go anywhere in South Carolina without talking about the military," said Katon Dawson, a former GOP state party chief who is Perry's top campaign adviser in the Palmetto State."It's huge here. The veterans are coming up and talking to the governor here. At every event, he asks how many have been in the military and at least one-third of the audience stands up or raises their hand."Perry's campaign is looking to boost its standing in the polls: he is registering 5.7 percent in the Real Clear Politics average of several South Carolina polls as of Jan. 13, which puts him well back in the pack behind Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Canada Goose Chilliwack Perry strategists hope to win more support with a new television campaign ad featuring support from Medal of Honor winners - and a shot of Perry in his uniform.Paul, R-Lake Jackson, is the only other veteran among the top tier candidates. Paul, who was at 14.7 percent in the Real Clear Politics average in South Carolina, has a radically different world view than Perry and the other candidates because he favors isolationism and wants to bring U.S. troops home from everywhere around the world.Paul, a physician, served as an Air Force doctor in the 1960s."The military is good politics in South Carolina," said Dave Woodard, professor of political science at Clemson University and director of the Palmetto Poll. People with military ties make up about 15 percent of the vote in the primary, he said.And that is a plus for Perry - and Paul. "Being veterans helps them, no doubt about it," said Woodard.University of South Carolina political expert Robert Oldendick, said, "Perry, in this second coming of his campaign, has been more willing to use the veteran image."However, Oldendick said, Paul will find that "South Carolina is a state where his isolationist policies are not playing very well."Undaunted, the Paul campaign repeatedly touts that the Libertarian-leaning candidate gets more contributions from active duty military than the other candidates combined.What's the appeal?Army reservist Joshua Holmes, who served two years in Iraq, is a Paul activist in New Hampshire among active duty military and veterans. "We've been in a state of war for 10 years with the same hundreds of thousands" of personnel," said Holmes. "The military is tired of fighting a war that has no concrete goal."But traditional military voters view Perry's more hawkish approach - he recently advocated a renewed military presence in Iraq - as appealing."The governor speaks their language," said Dawson. "He volunteered and served."Maria Recio is the Star-Telegram's Washington bureau chief, 202-383-6103