function hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); bubble.style.display = "none"; } function hide_user_promo_bubble() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 0 } }, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100); } function handle_promo_username(params) { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image"); var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link"); if (params.has_photo == "true") { img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png"; } else { img.style.display = "none"; Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide"); } anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name; anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name; bubble.style.display = "block"; var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 1 } }, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); } if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) { YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() { var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i; if (parts.length < 2) return; for (i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) { if (parts[i].indexOf("sb=") !== -1) { shared_by = parts[i]; } if (parts[i].indexOf("b=") !== -1) { badge = parts[i]; } } if (shared_by == "" || badge == "") return; var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); if (!bubble) return; var entry_id = HuffPoUtil.GetEntryID(); if (!entry_id) return; var user_id = parseInt(shared_by.substr(shared_by.indexOf("sb=") + 3)); if (!user_id) return; var badge_type = badge.substr(badge.indexOf("b=") + 2); if (!badge_type) return; script = document.createElement("script"); script.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); bubble.appendChild(script); script.setAttribute("src", "/include/share_track.php?a=view&eid=" + entry_id + "&uid=" + user_id + "&b=" + badge_type + "&cb=handle_promo_username"); }); } Haley Barbour Presidential Run?: Mississippi Governor Mulling 2012 White House Bid

Evidence is mounting that Mississippi Gov. Harley Barbour (R) is mulling a 2012 bid for the White House.

On Friday afternoon Politico's Jonathan Martin reported that Barbour and his advisors are privately exploring the possibility of jumping into the race. From the report:

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 was discussed.

Speculation on whether Barbour would vie for the Republican nomination began to surface as early as June 2009 and at that time the Mississippi governor did not deny he was considering running.

Here's what Barbour had to say about his presidential ambitions when speaking to Bob Schieffer on CBS' Face the Nation last summer:

I'm not going to give any thought to running for anything until after the 2010 election. I'd be very surprised if I ended up running for president, but I can't just say flatly no. But I would be very surprised. My wife would be even more surprised.

Now, one year after Barbour made those comments, it appears that the Mississippi governor is stepping up his efforts to weigh a 2012 bid. Here's an excerpt from National Journal's Reid Wilson and Erin McPik's report last week:

Ed Goeas, a GOP pollster and top Barbour advisor, told Hotline OnCall that Barbour is exploring the race and taking a more serious look than he's done previously. Barbour firmly believes the focus needs to be on the midterms, but he also is aware that he has about 2 weeks after Election Day to decide whether or not he will launch a bid, Goeas said.

Barbour's conservative politics could make him a natural contender for the Republican nomination, but his candidacy also has the potential to ignite controversy among voters.

Just last week he faced criticism when he defended Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R-Va.) omission of slavery from his "Confederate History Month" proclamation while he also maintains ties to controversial figures like Jake Abramoff and George W. Bush.

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Comments

[Hysterian68]

Gov. Barbour is not to be underestimated. This ole red neck and swamp turkey is one of the smartest politicians in the country today. I hope he doesn't disgrace himself by embracing the ideas of nullification, secession, and" let's have us another civil war " rhetoric we find amongst the crackpots in the DixiePub Party .

[jcko]

Palin & the Barbarian 2012

Barbour/Duke 2012

Barbour/ Rush 2012


All look good. Go for it.

[mw21]

Haley "Jim Crow" Barbour. Please, please, please run. Put Tancredo on the ticket with him.

[Hysterian68]

With this country descending rapidly towards right-wing anarchy and devolving into revolution, be careful what you wish for. They might just win!!

[kannita]

Run, Forest...Sorry Haley, run!

[carljr]

Ahh it has arrived. The final piece to achieve "White US" versus "Every Other Color THEM" for 2012.

[jcko]

At last:

A REAL American from Sarah's REAL America.

Go! Boubour/Palin 2012!!!

[ThePeacemakers]

What's his ad campaign going to be? Clips from "Birth of a Nation"?

[Edward Hara]

ROTFLMIAO!!!!

Great one!!!

[kannita]

You have my rolling on this one!

[rbenjamin]

Evidence is mounting that Mississippi Gov. Harley Barbour (R) is mulling a 2012 bid for the White House.

What exactly is mulling anyhow? Does it take place in a recliner and involve several bags of pork rinds, two dozen Slim Jims and a couple of gallons of sweet tea? President? This guy looks more like the ship of state.

[Joseph Bethea]

oh hell no they have enough good ole boys that need to be replaced already no need to put another on in their place

[rflctammt]

Thre are many eerie parallels to the era following the Civil War occuring in America today. Haley Barbour's ever inflating ego and the rise of the Teabaggers are prime examples.

I believe it is a kneejerk reaction to radical social progress as evidenced by our election of a black president. The same pool of people who could not get their brains around the freeing of the slaves and feared how that might upset their own piece of the pie cannot free their minds of fear of a world in which the white man is not the ruler. The fear emerges as opposition to anything and everything the black leader proposes...

But these are not the voices of the majority of Americans, just the most manic. The rest of us must come together with reason and intent, calm our neighbors and one another, and move forward with purpose. We must continue to celebrate the true progress being made despite these shrill voices. Our better angels are still available if we simply give them an equal platform.

[samsbud52]

Mississippi has been hearing rumors about the Guv. but nothing about a presidential bid. The latest is that he has been auditioning for a role as one of the Hogg family in the upcoming "Dukes of Hazard Movie" remake. It has been noted that he and Karl Rove are after the same role.

[buggedabouttheus]

LOL, you have blown my thoughtful post because I always think funny is better! Fanned.

[rflctammt]

I probably should have read this before I wrote out my own thoughtful post. Laughter is always better!

[Welib]

OMGawd. Laughed a good belly laugh over that one! Number 1 Fan and FAVED!

[plow]

I can't stop laughing long enough to post

[Professorofdesire]

Republicans are in a frantic search for a leader and savior. Now they are faced with Foghorn Leghorn as their new champion. Good Lord!!!!!!!!!!!

[Welib]

I say, I say boy. You ain't no chickenhawk and I ain't no chicken.

This is the best they have to offer? By his own admission, a fat, loudmouth redneck!

No one wants a redneck for a president and least of all do they want a southerner that has forgotten their own despicable history.

[rflctammt]

rotflmao
Does a rednick want a rednick for a president?

[Hysterian68]

Right, just as they were frantic for a saviour in 1968 too. They got one too.

[Professorofdesire]

Yeah, and remind me again. How did that one work out for them?

[willandjansdad]

As a native of Mississippi I can firmly state that Barbour is unelectable. The only reason he won the governorship here is because the neo-South Republicans have a firm stranglehold on Mississippi.

[From the Raft]

If a poll were taken the results would show most Southerners want to run for President. This could explain their envy and hatred of the their current President.

[debby6669]

Does he actually think it's possible to win Ohio, Florida OR Pennsylvania on a re-segregation platform? Good lord! He's redefining the term "disconnected".