Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Taping Uncommon Knowledge with Ricochet’s own Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi earlier today, I asked the governor whether he would consider running for president in 2012. He sure didn’t say no.
Between now and November, he replied, he’d be too busy trying to elect Republicans to the 37 governors’ mansions that are being contested in this election to spend any time worrying about the next election. (As chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Gov. Barbour has already raised some $40 million.) After November? Well, he’d be doing some serious thinking.
Would it hurt his chances that he had spent a decade as a lobbyist?
“I was a lobbyist, and a damn good one. And let me tell you. Whoever becomes the next president in January 2013 is going to find himself lobbying Congress beginning with his very first day in office.”
But he looks and sounds precisely like what he is—a lifelong denizen of Yazoo City, Mississippi, pop. 14,500. Could a man from Dixie—a man who loves barbecue and funny stories, who attended not Harvard but Ole Miss, a man who is intensely Southern—possibly win enough support in New England, the Pacific Northwest, or the Midwest?
“I don’t know. I really don’t. But by 2012 the country might just be looking for an anti-Obama.”
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Peter, I'd vote for Governor Barbour for President with a smile on my lips and a song in my heart. But given what we the electorate did to the country last time around -- dare I say it -- he's too good for us. We don't deserve him, and we almost certainly won't get him.
**heavy sigh**
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Hmm, I remember (distinctly!) on the 2004 NR cruise that Missippi denizens brought up this idea, and were nearly laughed out of court. I do not think Newt is a viable candidate, and have some doubts about the Divine Sarah. But Haley Barbour, not so much these days.
Jun '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
If it's not Barbour, if he runs but doesn't win the nomination, I would think he'd be at the top of the VP list. If like most VPs, he becomes the President's most important ambassador to Congress, you couldn't do much better.
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
I'm looking forward to watching the interview.
Sometimes I wonder if political commentators give so much focus to how much money campaigns raise because it provides a pleasant illusion of objective predictability. If it really was a reliable indicator of election outcomes, there would not be so many surprises.
And I'm happy that's so. The thought that the candidate with the most money wins is very depressing.
Jul '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
I like the VP idea. This guy has done nothing but succeed at every task he has undertaken. But I don't know that he has the charisma to be elected President.
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Ah, Patrick, just you wait until you see the interview. Just you wait.
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
You're right, of course, Aaron, that money isn't even close to dispositive, as also that, dwelling on sheer dollar figures, as if voters can simply be bought, is a) mistaken, and, b) distasteful. But that $40 million is relevant all the same, for one reason: Raising that kind of money is hard, so the number represents at least a rough index of the amount of effort the governor of Mississippi has expended on behalf of--well, on behalf of the nation.
Anyway, that's the point I was trying to suggest by naming the amount. (Maybe--here's an idea!--I should have said so.)
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Ahh, that makes good sense, Peter. Thanks for the clarification. Looking at it that way, I am impressed.
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Nonono, Aaron, raising more money doesn't buy an election. But having no money means you can't win. There's a sort of threshhold you have to cross to be viable. Beyond that, it's just noise.
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Kennedy, politicians are fools if they think buying advertisements on TV or producing a million yard signs is more effective than free interviews (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc), YouTube, a well-designed website and face-to-face interactions. What is the money necessary for?
If they want more TV airtime, they do something worthy of a news story. There's no need to pay for it.
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Lacks charisma? Haley Barbour drips charisma. And he is right about pretty much everything. Unfortunately hailing from the deep South permits easy character assassination by the MSM, and he is easily therefore marginalized and demagogued. Much like Gingrich, but without the divorce baggage.
Jul '10
Re: Haley Barbour: He Sure Didn't Say No
Think back to when you first heard that a freshman African-American senator with a name that sounded Osama bin Ladin was running for the presidency and then tell me Barbour can't win because he's a southerner. The oddly-named MSM a hurdle? Check the latest polls as to public trust. The only people who think it is trustworthy are the ones who don't read or vote.