Thomas: Look for Barbour to Announce Presidential Bid Around Feb. 10, 2011

With most people now recognizing that Haley Barbour is running for President in 2012, speculation turns to when he will announce that he is running. Look for the announcement around February 10, 2011.

How do I know this? I looked at when people announced in 2007 for the 2008 race. Here is when major candidates announced:

•Edwards: Dec. 26, 2006
•Dodd: Jan. 11, 2007
•Clinton: Jan. 20
•Biden: Jan. 31
•Huckabee: Jan. 28
•Obama: Feb. 10
•Romney: Feb. 13
•Giuliani: Feb. 15
•McCain: Feb. 28

They have a name for candidates who screw around, get coy and "test the waters": Fred Thompson. Thompson waited all the way until Sept. 5 to announce. Don't look for anyone to make that mistake again.

So for Barbour (and other serious candidates) it could be as early as mid-January ,or as late as the end of February. A good guess is in between. Feb. 10 seems like a good a date as any, since it worked for Obama. At least that's how I see it.

Philip Thomas: MLR