President Barack Obama begins his fourth visit to the Gulf Coast this morning, starting in Gulfport. Gov. Haley Barbour said that he will be on hand to welcome the President. Obama will be touring the U.S. Coast Guard command center and meet with locals before he heads to Theodore, Ala., this afternoon, reports gulflive.com.

Speaking yesterday on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Barbour said that the Mississippi coast has "lost the first third of our tourist season." Barbour reiterated that the tourism downturn is the fault of media coverage, and that little oil has come ashore in Mississippi from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Barbour skipped Obama's first three visits to the region.

Previous Comments

ID

158181

Comment

MS has been given quite a bit of media coverage Nationally and thanks to the JFP for keeping this story front row and center. It amazes me that the governor sees this oil spil as NO BIG DEAL. There have been small quantities of oil on the Coast, according to experts in the area. It is only a matter of time before we are hit if the oil continues at the rate that it is currently spewing. There was a question on CNN this morning: Who is the only Governor of a State who did not finish college before entering law school? The Answer: Gov. Haley Barbour

Author

justjess

Date

2010-06-14T10:32:33-06:00

ID

158185

Comment

Thanks justjess. I think people are a lot smarter than Gov. Barbour gives them credit for. I know if I had planned a beach vacation to the Gulf, I would give it a second thought, too. Not because I believe the entire Gulf is currently ankle-deep in oil, but because it's just a matter of time before much of it is at this rate, as you say. Vacation time and funds are too precious, sorry. I know that a dive in tourism hurts a lot of people, but blaming it on the media is disingenuous and simply inaccurate. BP made this mess, not reporters.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2010-06-14T13:02:21-06:00

ID

158188

Comment

[quote]Who is the only Governor of a State who did not finish college before entering law school? The Answer: Gov. Haley Barbour [/quote] Oh, cripes! If only Barbour had stuck around for that oil-spill management class they offer to upperclassmen! This whole thing could have been prevented!

Author

Mark Geoffriau

Date

2010-06-14T13:51:15-06:00

ID

158190

Comment

@Ronni_Mott sing it, sister!

Author

2599

Date

2010-06-14T14:08:40-06:00

ID

158205

Comment

Mark, that is tooooo funny. "...oil-spill management class." You just might be on to something. Haley has two jack-pots going for himself. He was able to enter law school before finishing college and he was a graduate of Ole MS during the period that Ole MS' law school graduates did not have to take the MS Bar Exam. How lucky can one get?

Author

justjess

Date

2010-06-15T09:58:44-06:00

ID

158210

Comment

Well, jess, if he would've just curbed his education after finishing high school, he could've been Mississippi's Bill Gates. Right?

Author

RobbieR

Date

2010-06-15T12:34:46-06:00