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Possibility: HAley Barbour for president in ‘08 (Move over Hilary)
The Yazoo Herald ^ | 01-04-04 | http://www.yazooherald.com

Posted on 01/14/2004 11:51:11 AM PST by WKB

Trent Lott’s fall from political grace a year ago dashed the hopes of Mississippians who saw the then-Senate majority leader as presidential material.

A Mississippian has never occupied the White House, and in Lott — a polished, handsome politician with national name recognition — many in the state saw a native son who would finally break the presidential drought.

In the fall of 2002, when Lott suffered a rare lapse of judgement and decided to wax nostalgic about the 1940s segregationist candidacy of Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, a second prominent Mississippian had long been harboring — and pursuing — his own presidential ambitions, Republican insiders suggest.

Haley Barbour was sworn in Tuesday as Mississippi’s 63rd governor, but it’s the possibility of a much grander inauguration that motivated the Yazoo City resident’s re-entry into electoral politics after two decades as a successful lobbyist and Republican power broker.

Haley for President. In 2008.

No joke.

Three prominent Mississippi Republicans, none of whom claimed first-hand knowledge of Barbour’s presidential plans, told this columnist that all signs point to a Barbour run to succeed a term-limited President Bush, who is heavily favored to win re-election this year. Contacted Friday, Barbour spokesman Quinton Dickerson discounted the presidential talk, saying the governor-elect is focused on serving Mississippians for the next four years.

Barbour’s own actions, however, are consistent with a presidential aspirant.

There was the nagging question two years ago, when Barbour’s name first surfaced as a possible gubernatorial contender, of why he would leave the prestige and wealth of a multimillion-dollar Washington lobbying firm that he built from scratch, divest himself of its substantial profits, and take a job in Mississippi that pays less than $200,000 a year. I’m not doubting Barbour’s sincerity about serving the people of his home state. One of the many failed components of Gov. Ronnie Musgrove’s re-election campaign was trying to cast Barbour as a Washington outsider who came home to Yazoo City only to run for governor.

Fact is, Barbour never left. As publisher of the weekly newspaper in Yazoo City during the late 1990s, I’d often go to the office on Saturday mornings to catch up on paperwork. A familiar site was Barbour strolling up the sidewalk, dropping his quarters in the coin-operated rack and pulling out his weekend copy of The Yazoo Herald. When the work week ended on Friday, Barbour was on a plane to Mississippi to be with his wife and kids, who’ve never lived in Washington.

Barbour’s affection for his home state is genuine, and voters rightly rejected Musgrove’s suggestion that Barbour decided to re-embrace his Yazoo City roots for political expediency. That said, there are many wealthy native sons — from John Grisham to Jim Barksdale to Bob Pittman — who are passionate about their home state and its success but who aren’t giving up millions to run for governor. If Barbour indeed has presidential ambitions, he needed an elected platform from which to make the jump. The jump from lobbyist and national party chairman to presidential candidate is improbable, if not impossible. Southern governors, on the other hand, have beaten a relatively smooth path to the White House over the past quarter-century.

See Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. For Barbour, the timing is right. A Bush re-election victory this year leaves the GOP nomination wide open in 2008 with no obvious front-runners. The president’s brother, Jeb, wants the job, but the GOP is unlikely to nominate consecutive Bushes. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani — and, to a lesser extent, New York Gov. George Pataki — have star power in the wake of Sept. 11, but a pro-choice New Yorker is unlikely to fare well in GOP primaries, where conservatives dominate. Barbour’s biggest competition could be former U.S. Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, who has kept a high profile by pinch-hitting for conservative talk-show host Bill O’Reilly on the Fox News Network. If the circumstances are right for a Barbour presidential bid, so are his credentials.

Barbour shattered all fund-raising records in claiming the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion. Imagine how much he could raise on the national level. The contacts Barbour built as national Republican Party chairman and as a successful lobbyist extend around the world. In addition to his fund-raising prowess, Barbour, in just a few hours on the telephone, could put together volunteer networks in all 50 states, much like he did on a county-by-county basis in Mississippi. After years on the Sunday morning and weeknight talk-show circuits, he’s got good name recognition from coast to coast.

He’s as skilled a campaigner and strategist as any Republican out there. Barbour charted new territory during his recent gubernatorial campaign by utilizing the latest technology to help turn out a record number of voters. (When’s the last time we ordinary Joes got a phone call from the president of the United States asking us to vote for a Mississippi gubernatorial candidate?)

Barbour is comfortable before any audience. His Southern charm and easy mannerisms play well on television. As party chairman in the 1990s, Barbour plotted a middle-of-the-road course that served Republicans well with swing voters. He’s conservative enough to pacify the party’s right wing, but not so strident as to turn off moderate Republicans and so-called Reagan Democrats.

Having not held elected office in Washington, Barbour won’t have a voting record for opponents to dissect. In Mississippi, the issues Barbour will deal with as governor won’t offer much fodder for a national campaign.

His biggest challenge will be defending some of his lobbying associations, from Big Tobacco to the Mexican government. But Barbour got good practice on that front, fending off Musgrove’s relentless attacks during the fall.

The best Barbour scenario is a good four years as governor, fueled by a rebounding economy, setting up a presidential announcement in 2007. Look out, Hillary.

Steve Stewart is former editor and publisher of The Yazoo Herald and is presently editor and publisher of the Clarksdale Press Register.


TOPICS: Editorial; US: Mississippi
KEYWORDS: 2008; barbour; electionpresident
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1 posted on 01/14/2004 11:51:12 AM PST by WKB
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To: dixiechick2000; Hottie Tottie; MagnoliaMS; MississippiMan; vetvetdoug; NerdDad; Rebel Coach; ...
Missippy ping
2 posted on 01/14/2004 11:52:07 AM PST by WKB (3!~ All I ask is one chance to prove that money cannot make me happy.)
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To: WKB
Maybe it's something in the water there.
3 posted on 01/14/2004 11:55:44 AM PST by EggsAckley (...................Repeal the Fourteenth Amendment.......................)
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Comment #4 Removed by Moderator

To: notorious vrc
Wishful and delusional thinking.



I post you decide
5 posted on 01/14/2004 12:04:32 PM PST by WKB (3!~ All I ask is one chance to prove that money cannot make me happy.)
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To: WKB
Not with his Southern drawl (about like mine by the way)
6 posted on 01/14/2004 12:05:16 PM PST by itsahoot (The lesser of two evils, is evil still...Alan Keyes)
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To: EggsAckley
I think it's the possum sauce.
7 posted on 01/14/2004 12:09:29 PM PST by YaYa123
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To: WKB
Haley Barbour and John Kasich the leading contender for the 2008 nomination.

Well, it's a new one, I'll say that!

8 posted on 01/14/2004 12:12:21 PM PST by JohnnyZ (This Week in Senate Races: David Beasley, Katherine Harris, Gary Hart, and Dan Blue DECIDE)
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To: WKB
TANCREDO '04
9 posted on 01/14/2004 12:20:53 PM PST by putupon (No Blood for Lettuce)
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To: WKB
His first name is Haley and last name sounds French. Hmmm ... doesn't sound like a sure thing.
10 posted on 01/14/2004 12:21:22 PM PST by Chi-townChief
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To: notorious vrc
Any Mississippian who ever thought that Lott had a shot at the WH has as much political savvy as Lott himself.
11 posted on 01/14/2004 1:02:36 PM PST by Cousin Eddie
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To: WKB
This guy's for real! Have just returned from Haley Barbour's inauguration ceremonies. First class all the way. Gov. Barbour will lead Mississippi out of its image problems of the past. He will use his political savvy and inclusion to convert the great mass of state employees away from the old courthouse gang democrat mindset, and thereby solidify the Governor's Office for Republicans for many years into the future. He has the ability and talent to do great things and it would not be a surprise to me for him to be elected President.
12 posted on 01/14/2004 1:03:29 PM PST by xcong_1
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To: xcong_1
He will use his political savvy and inclusion to convert the great mass of state employees away from the old courthouse gang democrat mindset,

Wow! I don't know if he can do that, but I'd sure love it if he would!!! Thanks for your glowing report on our Gov.

13 posted on 01/14/2004 1:11:21 PM PST by bourbon
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To: WKB
Matt Blunt. Soon to be Governor of Missouri and son of Congressman Roy Blunt. Barbour/Blunt?
14 posted on 01/14/2004 1:20:06 PM PST by donozark
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To: bourbon; WKB; dixiechick2000; Magnolia; wardaddy; vetvetdoug

I can see Governor Haley Reeves Barbour as our GOP nominee in '08. I've thought he belonged in the White House since the first time I laid eyes on him when he was RNC chairman. There's not a finer more wholesome man in politics today than Haley Barbour. I'm thrilled he's governor.

I sure want one of those buttons.

15 posted on 01/14/2004 4:08:56 PM PST by onyx (Your secrets are safe with me and all my friends.)
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To: notorious vrc
Wishful and delusional thinking.

Unwarranted and stupid posting.

16 posted on 01/14/2004 4:10:59 PM PST by onyx (Your secrets are safe with me and all my friends.)
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To: onyx
There's not a finer more wholesome man in politics today than Haley Barbour. I'm thrilled he's governor.

So am I. But even Southerners would sooner elect a scalded dog than a Jerry Clower look-alike to the Presidency.

17 posted on 01/14/2004 4:12:57 PM PST by sinkspur (Adopt a shelter dog or cat! You'll save one life, and maybe two!)
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To: putupon
Tancredo? Isn't that the same guy who promised to term limit himself, but recently changed his mind? Thought so.

Nice fellow and good Republican, who is NOT running against his president, but his word is looking a bit shabby. Oh well, democrats do the same thang.
18 posted on 01/14/2004 4:15:55 PM PST by onyx (Your secrets are safe with me and all my friends.)
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To: sinkspur
Well, I'm going to be living in Vicksburg right soon, so if Governor Haley tries for the nomination in '08, I'll be on hand to help his campaign. Maybe my CA accent can lessen his drawl that some folks here have negatively mentioned.

I really do not know how anyone cannot like Haley Barbour and he's as smart or smarter than any politician alive. Remember, under his leadership, the GOP took control of the House for the first time in forty years.

I'll not underestimate Governor Barbour. Over sell him, maybe, but I'm partial. :)
19 posted on 01/14/2004 4:23:34 PM PST by onyx (Your secrets are safe with me and all my friends.)
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To: WKB
I give him no chance and equal amount of support.
20 posted on 01/14/2004 4:27:27 PM PST by NewLand (Howie Dean is not MY neighbor...)
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