At the end of a long interview, the Hoover Institute's Peter Robinson asks Haley Barbour how someone who fits his profile -- white, southern male -- could become President.
Barbour emphasizes he's focused only on 2010, but then makes the beginnings of a case.
First, he notes that two of the last six Presidents hailed from deeply southern states; then he owns the lobbyist label, calling himself a "damned good one" and makes the argument that the country and world needs a lobbyist-in-chief.
Finally, he acknowledges that his profile is 180 degrees different from Obama's, and it "could be" that that's not such a bad thing.
Clearly, he's given this some thought, as you might expect from Haley Barbour.
"I will give it some thought after November, and I'm sure Jimmy Carter from Georgia and Bill Clinton from Arkansas had to ask that same question, and I can tell you -- I suspect -- they didn't know what the answer was when they decided to run for President.
And if I decide to run for President, I won't know what the answer is, either. But I will know this: if I run for President, what you see is what you get, and I am from Mississippi, I do have a southern accent. I was a lobbyist and a pretty damned good one. And I'm very proud -- we were talking before the show came on -- I am happy about my life. I've got a great marriage. I've got great family, and I've had a great career. Wouldn't do anything differently.
And I will tell you this -- the next President of the United States on January 21, 2013 - - is going to start lobbying. He's going to be lobbying Congress, he's going to be lobbying other countries. He's going to be lobbying the business community. He's going to be lobbying the labor unions, the governors, because that's what Presidents do, and I feel like it's an advantage for me to have the chance to do that.
As far as southern accents and Mississippi, this country may be looking for the anti-Obama in 2012. Don't know. Could be."
[Vid via Powerline.]
