Posted on 08/07/2006 3:20:04 AM PDT by WKB
PEARL, Miss. - Can an outside politician go to Iowa these days and not be seen as a presidential wannabe?
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said months ago that he won't run for president in 2008, but he might stir up talk of a possible candidacy by speaking in Des Moines on Aug. 16.
Asked if he's eyeing a run for the White House, Barbour shook his head.
"You can rest assured. I'm on hurricane duty," he told The Associated Press.
He responded to questions on Friday during a visit to the new Mississippi Emergency Management Agency headquarters in the Jackson suburb of Pearl.
Barbour, now 58, was Republican National Committee chairman from 1993 to 1997 and is still well connected in national GOP circles. He has helped raise money for Republican candidates in Missouri, Georgia and other states.
Barbour said he's going to Iowa at the request of the Republican State Leadership Council, a group that helped him unseat Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove in 2003.
"These people have helped and this is where they wanted me to go," Barbour said. "They apparently think we have a good chance in Iowa to win the governorship and to make some gains in the Legislature. So I let them pick wherever they wanted."
He said he'll probably go back to Iowa to raise money for Republican candidates this fall.
Barbour said that at the Aug. 16 luncheon, he'll talk about Mississippi's recovery from Hurricane Katrina and thank Iowans who have helped. Katrina struck last Aug. 29, leaving tens of thousands of Mississippians homeless and causing billions of dollars of damage.
Months before Katrina, one of Barbour's longtime friends and former lobbying partners, Ed Rogers, generated buzz about a possible Barbour presidential run by registering two Web sites - haley2008.com and haleyforpresident.com.
During an interview Feb. 7 at the state Capitol, Barbour said there was no way he could consider running for president.
"I've been flattered by the people who have encouraged me or said they would support me," he said then. "But there's no way I could run for president and do what I've got to do as governor. And, obviously, being governor comes first."
Iowa has one of the earliest caucuses of the presidential election season, and several potential candidates are meeting voters in the state this month. Some of them are speaking at the Iowa State Fair.
Among the Republicans scheduled to go to the state this month are New York Gov. George Pataki, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Democrats scheduled to spend time in Iowa in August are Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Mississippi ping
I can think of worse things than President Haley Barbour!
I like Haley Barbour. Always have.
"Barbour to speak in Iowa, refueling rumors of presidential run"
Don't bother, he has NO chance.
Haley's a hell of a sight better than most of the RINOs currently lined up for '08.
Haley Barbour has always had the ability to speak about complicated issues with clear simple language. Go back to his days as head of the Republican party - the man was always impressive with every TV appearance. I always hoped he would make some kind of national run.
Now - add that all that the job he did during and after Katrina, and you have the makings of a real leader.
Are you listening New Orleans??
Don't bother, he has NO chance.
Would you care to elaborate?
So far on this thread you are out numbered 5 to 1.
From what I've seen, Barbour would be a better candidate than RINOs Romney and McCain. He would probably fare better than Newt in a general election.
Haley would be a million times better than RHINOs McCain and Giuliani.
Indeed. He looks a heckuva lot better than anyone who's announced intentions so far.
And he has a proven track record as a capable and determined Reaganite conservative.
It's about time we had someone who was real and not be so concerned about TV friendly.
Haley Barbour is tough....very.
course they will claim he is racist and probably muttered the N-word under his breath a few times in his life since he's from our homeland.
Didn't he lobby for the UN after he left the RNC?
At this point, I'd vote for Haley Barbour over every one of them, hands down.
nah, but he was a piano player in a whorehouse in Yazoo City as a boy
paid his way through college like that.
"Don't bother, he has NO chance."
What do you know that the rest of us do not?
Governor Barbour had repeatedly said he has NO interest in running for president. Between helping our state recover from the most devastating natural disaster to ever hit this country and helping his wife recover from spinal surgery, he doesn't have the time -- and as he has said many times -- nor the inclination to run for president.
Haley supporting Republicans and honoring an invite.
GOOD on him.
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