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Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee took a different approach to a potential run for president, praising Mississippi governor Haley Barbour Monday. “I would consider him a colleague who wants the same job,” said Mr. Huckabee said Monday. “I think Haley could be a very strong candidate, and I believe he has possibly the most brilliant political mind in America … I owe a lot of my political life to Haley.”

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who's contemplating a 2012 presidential run, will be dispensing political advice to congressional Republicans this weekend during their private retreat in Baltimore. Barbour spokesman Dan Turner said the governor flew Thursday from Mississippi to the nation's capital. "He's got kind of a mixture of meetings in Washington," said Turner, adding that some meetings are for state business and some are for politics. Barbour and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are among the potential presidential candidates speaking during congressional Republicans' three-day retreat.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he's not setting any "artificial deadline" to decide whether he'll run for president in 2012. Barbour has deflected questions for months by saying that as chairman of the Republican Governors Association he has been focused on getting his party's candidates elected.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101113/NEWS/11130335/Barbour+sets+sights+on+2012+race

When asked about his presidential ambitions, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters earlier this year that “If you see me losing 40 pounds that means I’m either running or have cancer." It might be time to start watching Barbour’s waistline. POLITICO has learned that Barbour is weighing the prospect of a 2012 White House bid and convened a private meeting April 8 with a group of some of his oldest and closest advisers, some of whom flew in from the East Coast to Jackson, Miss. The gathering stretched for six hours, during which time the topic of a presidential run...

Barbour Won't Rule Out 2012 Run By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 19, 2010 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, two possible 2012 presidential candidates, called for a return to conservative principles before a critical constituency Friday, while Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour wouldn't rule out a White House bid of his own. ''If you see me losing 40 pounds that means I'm either running or have cancer,'' quipped Barbour, a former lobbyist and GOP chairman who Republican insiders say could be a formidable candidate. The head of the Republican Governors' Association, Barbour made the...

Just before Thanksgiving last year, a group of former aides to Mitt Romney convened at his salmon-colored Belmont home, many of them gathering for the first time since Romney had disbanded his presidential campaign some nine months before. Romney had invited them for a post-mortem of the election weeks earlier, the type of dispassionate assessment that the Harvard Business School alumnus so enjoyed. But over cookies, they found few of the metrics for success that Romney prized -- Republicans had been decisively thumped at all levels -- and his attention shifted from 2008 to the future.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) says he would be "very surprised" if he ended up running for president. He is in his second term as governor and became the head of the Republican Governors Association after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford stepped down following his admission of an extramarital affair. On CBS's "Face the Nation," Gov. Barbour said that the $787 billion fiscal stimulus package passed earlier this year is "far too expensive." The Obama administration argues that it will save or create 3.5 million jobs over two years.

BEDFORD – The Republican party needs to rebuild itself from the bottom up, said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour last night before addressing a gathering at a New Hampshire State Republican Committee reception. "You're in the White House for eight or 12 years, you become a top-down party, I don't care if these are Republicans or Democrats. When you get out, you're liberated to rebuild your party from the bottom up," he told reporters before a reception at at C.R. Sparks, which was closed to the press. Barbour assumed chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association yesterday, following South Carolina Gov. Mark...

JACKSON, Miss. | If the Republican Party is in danger of being marginalized as a conservative, white-male Southern enclave, is Haley Barbour - the longtime Washington power broker and current Mississippi governor - the best person to turn things around? Many rank-and-file Republicans and party leaders say yes as the 61-year-old Mr. Barbour prepares to ramp up his national profile this month with back-to-back trips to the early presidential voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Mr. Barbour will headline fundraisers in both states but says the visits are part of his duties as incoming chairman of the Republican Governors...

If the Republican Party is in danger of being marginalized as a conservative, white male Southern enclave, is Haley Barbour — the longtime Washington power broker and current Mississippi governor — the best person to turn things around? Many rank-and-file Republicans and party leaders say yes, as the 61-year-old Barbour prepares to ramp up his national profile this month with back-to-back trips to the early presidential voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Barbour will headline fundraisers in both states, but says the visits are part of his duties as incoming chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Both states have...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — If the Republican Party is in danger of being marginalized as a conservative, white male Southern enclave, is Haley Barbour — the longtime Washington power broker and current Mississippi governor — the best person to turn things around? Many rank-and-file Republicans and party leaders say yes, as the 61-year-old Barbour prepares to ramp up his national profile this month with back-to-back trips to the early presidential voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Barbour will headline fundraisers in both states, but says the visits are part of his duties as incoming chairman of the Republican Governors...

I'm not sure about posting Fox/AP, so I'll leave this blank.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour will headline a Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser in late June, fueling speculation the wildly-popular two-term governor may indeed have ambitions for higher officer. Barbour, 61, will be ineligible to seek another term as governor in 2012, but refuses to speak to his political future, saying only that “You can look for me not to run for re-election.” He will undoubtedly dismiss the candidate-type activity as inconsequential, as spreading the Republican Gospel, but no politician finds themselves in Iowa — the launch pad of every dark horse candidacy — by pure coincidence. Considered a highly effective...

2012 Watch: Barbour to N.H. @ 1:46 pm by Jeremy P. Jacobs A day after we learned the Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is heading to Iowa at the end of June, we find out that he also plans to head to New Hampshire. Barbour will headline an event for the New Hampshire Republican Party on June 24, one day before he's in Iowa. There shouldn't be any doubt that Barbour is at least considering a run in 2012.