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DES MOINES, Iowa -- The courting of longtime Iowa Republican operative Doug Gross this year has been emblematic of the surprisingly slow-to-develop presidential process in the nation's first voting state.

A Des Moines attorney who was the 2002 GOP gubernatorial nominee before chairing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2008 Iowa effort, Gross has listened to just about every viable campaign’s pitch and has weighed the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. But like many Iowa caucus-goers waiting for a savior who stands out among a field of contenders that has underwhelmed them thus far, Gross has remained unaligned.

But as he reflected on Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s entry into the race in an interview from his 20th-floor downtown office here on Thursday, Gross sounded as if he may have found his man.

“He’s the one candidate who’s campaigning in Iowa right now who has a chance to be president of the United States,” Gross said of Perry. “Part of where I’m at is I want to give him a little time to see what kind of staying power he’s got. I mean a rollout is one thing. Being able to hang in there and handle it is another. But let’s not forget he was governor of Texas -- that’s a big state with a ravenous press -- for 10 years, so he’s got some ability.”

Since announcing his candidacy on Saturday, Perry has become the focal point of the campaign in Iowa as voters and the national media alike have marveled over the formidable retail politicking skills he showed off at the Iowa State fair and other events around the state.

Asked whether Perry should now be considered the favorite to win the Hawkeye State, Gross said, “Sure.” He added that Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann -- who won the Ames Straw Poll but has been increasingly criticized for her celebrity-style campaigning here -- was in a far weaker position here than what has widely been perceived.

“The caucuses are all about seeing you, asking you questions, almost touching you, and she is unapproachable almost as a result of all of this, and that’s a big mistake,” Gross said. “I’ve always felt with Bachmann that her peak would be the straw poll and that she’d peak too early and go downhill. So far it looks like that might happen.”

As he has done for months, Gross oozed with exasperation over Romney’s strategy not to compete aggressively in Iowa to date.

Gross said he wrote Romney an encouraging email after the former governor’s recent appearance at the state fair, in which the candidate aggressively shot back at a group of liberal hecklers and seemed more at ease on the stump than he generally was four years ago.

Gross said he “wouldn’t be surprised at all” if former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were to enter the race, and if she does, Romney would have no choice but to play more aggressively here.

“I think it’s a no-brainer that he ought to get in now, if he wants to be president of the United States,” Gross said of Romney. “Literally, last night I’m going for a walk, these people are stopping me saying, ‘Doug, do we have the candidate now? Is Perry the guy?’ Because Romney’s not playing here. And if he’s not asking for their vote, he’s not going to get it.”

Gross noted that if Romney is afraid to compete in Iowa -- a general election swing state in the critically important Midwest -- that would not bode well for him as a general election candidate in November 2012.

The Iowa super-operative said he was still open to lending his support to the candidate for whom he worked four years ago, but not unless Romney shows some real signs of taking a risk and pushing harder here.

“[Perry’s] had a great rollout, and I think Romney’s people almost egotistically felt somehow that he’s from Texas, he’s not that smart, he’s just going to sort of fall on his own weight -- that he doesn’t have the gravitas to do this,” Gross said. “If [Perry] gets a head of steam and wins big in Iowa, they’re going to have a heck of a time stopping him.”