Jim Henson

The immediate question about the mutually reinforcing phenomena of Cruz’s recent success in the polls and the attendant media attention he has received is whether Cruz is emerging from the pack to become a real contender for the GOP nomination.

The attitudes revealed in polling provide ready frames for political leaders on the left and right to use in crafting their responses to the sad and troubling events in Colorado Springs.

An ever-expanding niche market of political junkies — and the specialized media that feeds it — finds news in polling results and in conflicts over polling practice. The release of internal polls becomes as much about shaping public opinion as it is about measuring it.

The underlying fundamentals that buttressed Gov. Rick Perry's political power in the state are not much changed, and they suggest that the governor will reassert his powerful presence in Texas politics now that he is back.