The U.S Census Bureau web site states that thirty-seven percent of Mississippians are black. According to this article in Sunday’s Clarion-Ledger, Governor Barbour has appointed twenty state court judges in his tenure with all twenty being white. That’s a really bad statistic for a man positioning himself for a presidential run. The Republican Party’s Southern Strategy appears dead after the last presidential election. Getting most of the white votes in the South isn’t enough anymore. Anyone who wants to be president is going to need to pick up minority votes somewhere. With a stat like this, blacks are out as potential Barbour supporters. And are Hispanics going to think that Barbour will be a good president for them with a stat like this? Probably not. This is the type of statistic that will get major national media attention should Barbour run for president. I am on record as stating that Barbour has a legitimate shot in 2012, but stuff like this could kill him.

With disgraced Judge Bobby DeLaughter’s seat now open Barbour could begin to rectify this horrible record by appointing a black lawyer to fill DeLaughter’s seat. But the leading candidates rumored to be on Barbour’s list are all white. Given the importance of the seat it would be shocking if Barbour appointed a black to the position and would be the clearest signal yet that Barbour is positioning himself for a 2012 presidential bid.