Image via WikipediaOnce again, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour finds himself the focus of national media attention for another race-related stumble.
Several months ago, Barbour was quoted in a Weekly Standard profile saying the civil rights era in Mississippi was not "that bad". When I thought about the murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, I could not understand how anyone could make a statement like that, particularly someone who aspires to be as presidential candidate in the 2012 race.
Now, Barbour is in the news again for refusing to denounce plans to honor Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest, an early leader and former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan.
Why would you care what Haley Barbour thinks or does? Imagine if he were your next president.
Andy Kroll, Mother Jones Online reports the following:
None of the Republican Party's potential 2012 presidential candidates can match the fat Rolodex and fundraising prowess of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour . A former Republican National Committee chairman, Barbour enjoys deep ties in the party infrastructure. A former lobbyist who started his own DC firm, Barbour Griffith & Rogers (now BGR Group), Barbour can call up his K Street buddies to raise cash for his campaign war chest. And a former chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Barbour has friends in statehouses from Arizona to Maine who can marshal national support.If events and people catch you sleeping at the wheel, imagine what could happen. Barbour has the money, contacts and means to become a viable candidate for president in 2012. His race-related statements may well endear him to like minded citizens longing for "the good old days". Stay alert.
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