are we underestimating haley barbour

[WalterMitty]

yes.

he is a republican's wet dream.

[pogo stick]

He's not my wet dream. Palin is. But No we are overestimating him

[WalterMitty]

He's not my wet dream. Palin is. But No we are overestimating him

are you old enough for wet dreams?

[pbrower2a]

Mississippi has no political pull, no giant media outlets with which to influence thought, and a poor reputation in American politics. It is a lagger and not a leader. Mississippi is no microcosm of America, so what works politically there would never work outside the South (contrast Indiana and Virginia, which are fair microcosms of America in contrast to Mississippi). Its partisan polarization on "racial" lines is rare elsewhere in America. The state is infamous for political corruption due to machine-boss politics at the local level -- in hick towns in which no Republican has a chance because the community is majority-black or in which no Democrat has a chance because the community is majority-white. It has no high-profile businesses domiciled there; neighboring Arkansas at least has Wal-Mart.

The state is toward the bottom in educational achievement, and you can be sure that Obama will hammer Barbour on that in 2012 should Barbour be the nominee. About all that Barbour gets credit for legitimately is that he handled the aftermath of Katrina far better than did state government of Louisiana and municipal government in New Orleans -- probably because he was a reliable stooge for Dubya.

[exopolitician]

No. I don't think I could ever see him being President. Not even a VP pick for anyone.

[pogo stick]

Mississippi has no political pull, no giant media outlets with which to influence thought, and a poor reputation in American politics. It is a lagger and not a leader. Mississippi is no microcosm of America, so what works politically there would never work outside the South (contrast Indiana and Virginia, which are fair microcosms of America in contrast to Mississippi). Its partisan polarization on "racial" lines is rare elsewhere in America. The state is infamous for political corruption due to machine-boss politics at the local level -- in hick towns in which no Republican has a chance because the community is majority-black or in which no Democrat has a chance because the community is majority-white. It has no high-profile businesses domiciled there; neighboring Arkansas at least has Wal-Mart. What passes as an economic 'miracle' is gambling casinos; even Detroit has those.

The state is toward the bottom in educational achievement, and you can be sure that Obama will hammer Barbour on that in 2012 should Barbour be the nominee. About all that Barbour gets credit for legitimately is that he handled the aftermath of Katrina far better than did state government of Louisiana and municipal government in New Orleans -- probably because he was a reliable stooge for Dubya.

Yea.. you didn't need to post it twice.

We realize your an elitist and hate MS.

Barbour will never get higher then Gov. of MS.

[pbrower2a]

Duplicate post deleted.

Sure, I'm an elitist. The competent will rightly rule the world and shape others'  minds, and the rest will just have to defer.

I don't know Mississippi well enough to hate it. I have seen enough about its politics to hate Mississippi politics. 

[WalterMitty]

Duplicate post deleted.

Sure, I'm an elitist. The competent will rightly rule the world and shape others'  minds, and the rest will just have to defer.

I don't know Mississippi well enough to hate it. I have seen enough about its politics to hate Mississippi politics. 

it is a good thing you dont hate mississippi.   it isnt like michigan is land of the enlightened.

[pbrower2a]

Duplicate post deleted.

Sure, I'm an elitist. The competent will rightly rule the world and shape others'  minds, and the rest will just have to defer.

I don't know Mississippi well enough to hate it. I have seen enough about its politics to hate Mississippi politics. 

it is a good thing you dont hate mississippi.   it isnt like michigan is land of the enlightened.

I want out of this miserable State of Michigan! The least of its problems is that it is "un-enlightened". One must be very sentimental to like Michigan.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Barbour will never get higher then Gov. of MS.

He could get into the Senate, if Cochran retires in 2014.

[pogo stick]

Barbour will never get higher then Gov. of MS.

He could get into the Senate, if Cochran retires in 2014.

Still.....I highly doubt he'd run for any other office. He's the Mitch Daniels of MS. Except Mitch is electable

[Mechaman]

Duplicate post deleted.

Sure, I'm an elitist. The competent will rightly rule the world and shape others'  minds, and the rest will just have to defer.

I don't know Mississippi well enough to hate it. I have seen enough about its politics to hate Mississippi politics. 

it is a good thing you dont hate mississippi.   it isnt like michigan is land of the enlightened.

I want out of this miserable State of Michigan! The least of its problems is that it is "un-enlightened". One must be very sentimental to like Michigan.

Back in Okieland another ole timer throws a bible at me for having long hair and wearing tight jeans.

[pbrower2a]

Duplicate post deleted.

Sure, I'm an elitist. The competent will rightly rule the world and shape others'  minds, and the rest will just have to defer.

I don't know Mississippi well enough to hate it. I have seen enough about its politics to hate Mississippi politics. 

it is a good thing you dont hate mississippi.   it isnt like michigan is land of the enlightened.

I want out of this miserable State of Michigan! The least of its problems is that it is "un-enlightened". One must be very sentimental to like Michigan.

Back in Okieland another ole timer throws a bible at me for having long hair and wearing tight jeans.

Somehow I thought that Jesus would be a longhair and tight-jeans sort. I must polish off the short story "Jesus Came to Town on Tuesday". Can you imagine Him in a corporate boardroom? Imagine some executive, when He asks the question "What have you done for the poor today?"

"I keep a large staff at my penthouse apartment and my house in the Hamptons/on the Gold Coast/whatever".

Ye generation of vipers, indeed!

   

 

[memphis]

He can't win the swing states. Game over.

[7,052,770]

Mississippi has no political pull, no giant media outlets with which to influence thought, and a poor reputation in American politics. It is a lagger and not a leader. Mississippi is no microcosm of America, so what works politically there would never work outside the South (contrast Indiana and Virginia, which are fair microcosms of America in contrast to Mississippi). Its partisan polarization on "racial" lines is rare elsewhere in America. The state is infamous for political corruption due to machine-boss politics at the local level -- in hick towns in which no Republican has a chance because the community is majority-black or in which no Democrat has a chance because the community is majority-white. It has no high-profile businesses domiciled there; neighboring Arkansas at least has Wal-Mart.

The state is toward the bottom in educational achievement, and you can be sure that Obama will hammer Barbour on that in 2012 should Barbour be the nominee. About all that Barbour gets credit for legitimately is that he handled the aftermath of Katrina far better than did state government of Louisiana and municipal government in New Orleans -- probably because he was a reliable stooge for Dubya.

Yawn.  Don't know much about Mississippi, do you?

And yes, Barbour would be a strong candidate.

[pbrower2a]

Mississippi has no political pull, no giant media outlets with which to influence thought, and a poor reputation in American politics. It is a lagger and not a leader. Mississippi is no microcosm of America, so what works politically there would never work outside the South (contrast Indiana and Virginia, which are fair microcosms of America in contrast to Mississippi). Its partisan polarization on "racial" lines is rare elsewhere in America. The state is infamous for political corruption due to machine-boss politics at the local level -- in hick towns in which no Republican has a chance because the community is majority-black or in which no Democrat has a chance because the community is majority-white. It has no high-profile businesses domiciled there; neighboring Arkansas at least has Wal-Mart.

The state is toward the bottom in educational achievement, and you can be sure that Obama will hammer Barbour on that in 2012 should Barbour be the nominee. About all that Barbour gets credit for legitimately is that he handled the aftermath of Katrina far better than did state government of Louisiana and municipal government in New Orleans -- probably because he was a reliable stooge for Dubya.

Yawn.  Don't know much about Mississippi, do you?

And yes, Barbour would be a strong candidate.

I've never been in Mississippi. I recognize that Mississippi Burning no longer describes Mississippi politics. I lived in northeastern rural Arkansas for a year in the 1960s -- as a kid -- and back then, Mississippi was a joke in Arkansas. Arkansas, mind you. I know about William Faulkner and Eudora Welty, thank you; I also recognize Mississippi as the home of the Blues. Such are the obvious cultural contributions of Mississippi. Elvis Presley? Of course -- not that his contributions are what most eggheads consider "intellectual".

You tell me -- what influential newspapers originate from Mississippi? Name one well-recognized university in Mississippi. Nope- "Ole Miss" can't hold a candle to the Universities of California, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, or Florida, or the SUNY (or even Cal State!) system. I think that the University of Alabama has more pull even without the football achievements under Bear Bryant. That's State Universities. Tell me what equivalents of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Rice, or the University of Chicago.  Or Vanderbilt (in Nashville, Tennessee) or Duke. Mississippi isn't an intellectual leader even for the South.

Can you deny that achievement in secondary schools in Mississippi is toward the bottom? You can't blame a recent infusion of recent immigrants with problems with the language. OK, I concede -- it's the climate. Cold winters may ensure that there isn't much of a reason for skipping school.

A few years ago I heard that one community in Mississippi (Corinth) is a center for one sort of economic activity that I have little use for: insurance fraud. That's not good for long-term economic growth; if you can't get insurance, there's much that you can't do, like starting a business that has insurable risks. That largely relegates Mississippi to agriculture with some zero-sum gambling.

I recognize that Barbour would surely win Mississippi and might do better than did McCain in Florida.  Wow! Barbour really scares me as a challenge to Barack Obama -- far more than Huckabee. Sure -- and hyenas make great pets.

[California8429]

I have no idea.

He's going to run, the question is can he beat Huckabee and Palin to get the south and Iowa?

[pbrower2a]

I have no idea.

He's going to run, the question is can he beat Huckabee and Palin to get the south and Iowa?

Probably not. About all that he could do is to take votes away from Huckabee -- which is about the role that I see with Pawlenty against Romney.


Iowa has traditionally been good for clearing the field of people who could never get 5% of the support within the Party.

[Smash255]

I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up being somewhat competitive in the  Primary.  The General, well thats a bit different...

[California8429]

I have no idea.

He's going to run, the question is can he beat Huckabee and Palin to get the south and Iowa?

Probably not. About all that he could do is to take votes away from Huckabee -- which is about the role that I see with Pawlenty against Romney.


Iowa has traditionally been good for clearing the field of people who could never get 5% of the support within the Party.

He wanted 2008, but some things turned up. 2012 he has a better shot at anyway though

[pbrower2a]

Better chance in 2012? Sure. 2008 is over.

[Rob]

Only Walter could look at a fat, right-wing ex-tobacco lobbyist from Mississippi and think "underrated."

[7,052,770]

Mississippi has made an immeasurable impact on American culture.  Without the Delta blues and Elvis, American popular music wouldn't resemble what it is today.

As far as education goes, Mississippi State has one of the top engineering schools in the South, as well as one of the top agricultural programs and meteorology graduate programs.  I don't know much about Ole Miss, but I'm sure it's fine.

Anyhow, our state is very poor and Congress is always very reluctant to send any aid.  Whether it's the absurd bobbling of Katrina relief (and the failure of the media to give any attention to the fact that Mississippi was much harder hit than New Orleans by the disaster), or it's congressman like Rangel openly mocking our state (and the failure of the media to care about that), it seems like we always draw the short stick in Washington.
Sure, maybe it's our fault for sending people like Trent Lott to Congress, though even he got a pretty raw deal all things considered.

[pbrower2a]

Considering that Mississippi has the largest proportion of blacks in America, it would behoove someone like Charles Rangel to not mock Mississippi. It doesn't disenfranchise blacks as it used to.  I figure that the racial polarization in politics prevents some very good things from happening. Mississippi needs to have its voters prepare to cross ethnic/partisan lines so that they can get clean and effective government instead of machine-boss rule that simply divides the spoils even in rural counties.

In any event Mississippi is so firmly Republican because it is so rural.  I have said frequently that urban government is inherently more expensive than rural government; infrastructure (including highways) is more easily improvised in a small town than in a large city or its suburbs, and such people as cops, firefighters, and teachers have fewer alternatives that bid up their salaries. Jackson is by far the largest metropolis, and the largest cities in Mississippi other than Jackson are smaller than Kalamazoo, Michigan or Waco, Texas.  The GOP has a good model for America -- so long as that America is rural.