Barbour candidacy would be surprise
Some so-called political insiders really believe Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is seriously considering a run for president in 2012. After watching this governor closely for nearly eight years now, I consider the idea implausible.
It has nothing to do with Barbour’s credentials. I’ve said in this space before that he is one of the smartest politicians I’ve met. He uses his thick Southern drawl as a weapon against those who mistake his dialect as a knock on his intelligence. They don’t come any sharper than Barbour. If he chose to make a presidential run, he’d figure out a way to make a race of it.
But I just don’t see that happening.
Is He Ready?
The Washington Post covered a Barbour speech recently where he spoke to a packed house of GOP faithful in an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. The filled-to-capacity convention halls, and the mounting cable and network TV appearances, leave little doubt that Barbour’s national profile is on the rise. The growing number of media reports casting him as a presidential hopeful has piqued curiosity around the Beltway.
Clarion-Ledger
9/12/10
Magnolia Tribune
