Candidate doesn’t know if he’s on Grassley’s list

CEDAR RAPIDS - Haley Barbour isn't sure if he's on Sen. Chuck Grassley's list.

“You'd have to as Sen. Grassley,” the Mississippi governor said when asked about Grassley's comment that only two or three of the candidates seeking the 2012 GOP presidential nomination are qualified to hold the office.

Grassley refused to identify which candidates he considers qualified and apparently hasn't shared that with the candidates themselves.

Barbour said he hasn't discussed Grassley's assessment of his qualifications, but added quickly, “I've had tons of conversations with him over the years.”

Although the 2012 hopefuls are beginning to swarm to Iowa, Grassley, who is serving his sixth term in the Senate, has declined to endorse anyone. It's too early to back a candidate, he told KJAN Radio in Atlantic. Grassley indicated he'll wait until he gets a sense of which candidate can come out of Iowa strong enough to mount a national campaign.

“It wouldn't do me much good to back somebody that won in Iowa if they can't carry on the campaign elsewhere,” he said.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky has been having some fun with Grassley's comment.

“It's amazing that Sen. Grassley thinks there are so many unqualified candidates for the most important office in the country and he won't share his opinion with his fellow Iowans,” she said. “As the longest serving Iowa Republican, you would think members of his party would want his opinion and he'd want to ensure that an unqualified candidate didn't make it through the caucus.”

The stark assessment by Grassley doesn't bode well for the Republican field, Iowa Democratic Party spokesman Sam Roecker said in a blog post.

“Is it Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Tea Party)? Reality TV and real estate star Donald Trump? Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who has been struggling with foreign policy lately” Health-care champion Mitt Romney? Or, maybe, Sarah Palin?” he posted.

The IDP invited people to leave their ideas on which candidates Grassley was referring to at

http://iowademocrats.org/2011/03/grassley-on-the-gop-field-only-two-or-three-of-them-are-qualified-to-be-president.