The Wall Street Journal seems fixated on debunking Rick Perry’s claim to have led the state through the Texas Miracle.  As Red has repeatedly pointed out, when big oil is up, Texas is up and vice versa.  We would all like to take credit for a robust economy, but sometimes it’s just location, location, location.  Still one has to wonder if the WSJ’s continually bagging on Perry’s signature accomplishment signals a tough road ahead for the former Governor.  And of course, the WSJ has to slip in the inconvenient fact that Perry remains under indictment.

As Mr. Perry prepares to announce an anticipated second run for president on Thursday, the “Texas Miracle” is looking less impressive amid falling oil prices that have led to thousands of job cuts in his home state. That has created an opening for challengers to say Mr. Perry’s jobs record was attributable more to good timing—namely the hydraulic-fracturing oil-and-gas boom—than to the business-friendly mix of low tax rates and light regulations that he has frequently cited.

Texas lost more than 25,000 jobs in March according to state figures, its first monthly net decline in more than four years, after adding nearly 458,000 jobs in 2014, more than any other state. It bounced back in April but still only added 1,200 new jobs, far below other large states.