The wisdom of Haley Barbour

Washington Post:

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was Republican National Committee chairman the last time his party was at such a low, after the election of 1992. Two years later, Republicans captured control of Congress, and although Newt Gingrich, who became the new House speaker, got much of the credit, party insiders say Barbour played a major role.

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... Barbour has refrained from commenting on Sanford's problems and, in an interview on the eve of the NGA meeting, ducked the question of whether Palin's decision to resign is a responsible action by an incumbent governor.

"I am not smart enough to know whether this helps her or hurts her for 2012, or whether that's what it was focused on. I'm just ignorant of it." He paused and laughed, saying: "That's the best you're getting."

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He acknowledges that Republicans have done little to help themselves in the six months Obama has been in office. But he believes, as do others in the party, that Obama's ambitious policies are providing an opening for the GOP to come back.

In recent weeks, Republicans have become more aggressive in seeking to portray Obama as an advocate of economic, health-care and energy policies that will give government too much power, explode the deficit and hurt business. Barbour articulates the case with an especially sharp edge, and said Obama is "far to the left of anybody else who's been elected president [or] who's ever run for president on a major-party ticket." He said Obama's policies are running up spending "that a year ago was just unthinkable."

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Though Democrats have denounced the GOP as "the party of no," Barbour said that Republicans have their own ideas and that, in any case, opposition to Democratic initiatives will serve his party well. "It reminds me of the 2006 election, when the Democrats' campaign theme, and only theme, was, 'We ain't the Republicans.' "

To the question of why the party seems leaderless, he said: "There shouldn't be just one spokesman. When you're out, you're supposed to be bottom-up."

Barbour argued that many Americans, particularly independents who may have voted for Obama, are beginning to have second thoughts about the president.

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Whatever problems his party faces, Barbour argued that Obama is creating problems of his own that will become the focal point of a political debate that could help Republicans win elections over the next 18 months.

"I'm more optimistic than I was six months ago," he said. "I think the movement's been in our direction. We still have to have further movement, but the movement's been in our direction."

I hope more Republicans are listening to Haley Barbour. I think he has analyzed the current mood pretty well and sees the opportunities the Democrats are giving Republicans with their hard left turn in depths of a debt that no one thinks they can repay.

When Obama says he will not sign a health care bill that will add to the deficit, he has zero credibility. Only a true believer would think that the health care bill the Democrats are pushing will not add to the deficit.