NBC – Barbour didn’t think he could beat Obama

Barbour didn’t think he could beat Obama

WASHINGTON — Haley Barbour ultimately decided not to run for president after concluding that Barack Obama will be too tough to beat in a general election race, according to two advisers familiar with the Mississippi governor’s decision making.

Barbour “wanted to run, he would have loved it,” said one of the advisers (who both asked for anonymity). But while he saw a path to winning the Republican nomination, the governor and his inner circle became gun-shy when they considered Barbour’s prospects of prevailing against Obama and a likely united Democratic party behind him in the general election, the advisers said.

“It would have required an inside straight,” said one adviser.

NBC News
5/26/11