In need of a new bumper sticker
Well, I’ll be. Comes the surprising announcement that Governor Barbour will not run for President. A lot of us thought he would do it, even as people debated his chances, and how he fit into the field. Maybe a lot of folks in Mississippi wanted him to do it, just to be that close to a real contender. I wanted him to run, if for no other reason than the chance for a debate between Obama and Barbour. I have no doubt who would win.
Barbour had done everything required in the run-up to a run. Last week, Charles Krauthammer, one of the most respected and analytical voices on the right, gave Barbour as good odds to win the nomination as he did Mitt Romney, the default leader of a leaderless pack of GOP hopefuls. Along with the endorsement-in-waiting of Ohio Governor John Kasich (note: Ohio = important) and a straw poll win in South Carolina, the Mississippi Governor seemed off to the races.
Only, apparently, he wasn’t. The analysts will surely come up with all the reasons Haley opted out. My hunch is that his heart was simply not “all-in.” Certainly, Barbour had a chance to catch fire and win the nomination-probably as good a chance as any of the current field.
Neshoba Democrat
4/27/11
Magnolia Tribune
