Haley Barbour used about a third of his speech before the Republican Leadership Conference to implore the conservative activists gathered here to rally behind the party’s eventual presidential nominee and to accept that the candidate will be imperfect.
It was an illustration of why Barbour was such an effective RNC chairman and why he may have had difficulty running for president at a moment when the GOP base isn’t in the mood for compromise and pragmatism.
Without endorsing any candidate – he told reporters later he wouldn’t do so anytime soon – Barbour effectively dismissed the possibility that one of the more doctrinaire conservatives would be the party’s nominee.
“We’re going to nominate far and away the best candidate, gonna be ten times better than Obama, but don’t get hung up on purity,” said Barbour, drawing momentary silence and then a modest ovation.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57222.html#ixzz1PZWjJMaj
Politico
6/17/11
Magnolia Tribune
