Rick Perry says he is definitely running for president

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- While Texas Gov. Rick Perry has made no formal announcement, he told Time magazine in an interview he wants to run for president.

"I mean I wouldn't be this far into the process. … The issue of, 'is this what I want to do?' was dealt with about 45 days ago in a conversation with my wife," Perry said. "Prior to that, no. Being the president of the United States was not on my radar screen from the standpoint of something I wanted to do."

Perry added he has a "calmness" in his heart about running.

Asked if his endorsement of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2008 and his position on immigration suggests he is not as conservative as he would like to appear to be, Perry said there is no conflict.

"I thought Mayor Giuliani did a wonderful job of managing a city. He was very strong militarily. He was as strong on crime as any big city mayor has ever been," Perry said. "He and I were 180 degrees on social issues, but he would put strict constructionists on the Supreme Court, which dealt with those social issues."