It was inevitable. Somebody was going to tout Roy E. Barnes for president. It was about the worst thing that could happen to Georgia's governor at this moment in his career. Nevertheless, Chuck Todd, editor in chief of The Hotline, a Washington-based daily newsletter on national politics, has written a column suggesting Barnes may be the answer to the Democrats' presidential prayers in 2004.
Barnes has nearly all the assets required of a presidential candidate.
Barnes has knocked himself out trying to stay away from the national spotlight, at least for the time being. He has avoided the networks' talking-heads public affairs shows, except for a couple of appearances on which he looked and sounded as if he were running for probate judge of Echols County. In recent times, he has made a couple of moves that were essential to his governorship but also ensured he would receive national attention. First, his education-reform initiatives sound like an echo of a George W. Bush campaign speech. Barnes admits that he has patterned many of his education policies on those of Texas Gov. Bush.