From other Mississippi newspapers:

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Enterprise-Journal, McComb:

Haley Barbour made what might have been his swan song at the Neshoba County Fair. At least it was probably his final speech as a public official or a candidate at the storied fair which always serves up generous helpings of political fare at election time.

Barbour, who abandoned a run at the presidency because he admitted he didn’t have the fire in the belly to make a total commitment to the effort, says he expects to return to the private sector where he formerly was a high-powered Washington lobbyist. He says he’ll continue to make speeches and could have some involvement in the 2012 presidential campaign, although not as a candidate.

Barbour candidly admitted he took a pay cut to become governor and said he owes it to his wife, Marsha, “to go back and try to make a better financial situation for my family.”

It’s doubtful the Barbour family will suffer any financial pangs whatever the outgoing governor does over the next several years.

Now 63, Barbour will leave office next January as one of, if not the most, popular governors in state history. He easily won re-election four years ago, and if not term-limited could win in a walk this year if he chose to run.

Most Mississippi governors, even the revered ones, are less popular when they leave office than when they go in. Often the outgoing governor is a campaign issue, with candidates to succeed him promising to do something different.

Not Barbour; he’s a non-issue in the campaign with the major Republican hopefuls promising to be like him and the Democrats not even mentioning him.

The only position we can think of that Barbour has taken that those seeking to run on his coattails haven’t embraced is the proposed constitutional amendment restricting the state’s use of eminent domain to secure land for economic development projects. Leland Speed, Barbour’s director of the Mississippi Development Authority, has filed a suit to block the initiative, mainly backed by the Mississippi Farm Bureau. Speed filed the suit as a private citizen, not in his official capacity, and Barbour isn’t involved in it. But he earlier vetoed legislation on restricting eminent domain to strictly public use, and it’s no secret he opposes the amendment.

It would be interesting to hear how the candidates stand on that one. You probably won’t.