Cochran is just Barbour's sock puppet. Cochran is more mentally out of it than Frank Lautenberg - and I mean Lautenberg in his present condition. Barbour is the one controlling what Cochran's staff feed him. Barbour is trying to have the power of being a Senator without actually having to put himself before the electorate.
Cochran isn’t running. Boss Hogg is doing Cochran’s campaigning
for him. Cochran is just a prop for Haley Barbour.