Political analyst Charlie Cook has a great column in this week’s National Journal that looks to 2012 and the Republican field.  It included some generous coverage of My Man Mitch…

The recent National Governors Association conference in Washington sparked increased talk that Barbour and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels have more than a passing interest in the 2012 contest. Barbour, who took over as chairman of the Republican Governors Association earlier last year, has been elevating his national profile. He and the RGA received a big boost last November when the GOP scored takeover victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial contests.

Daniels’s refusal to shut the door on a run was interesting. On the one hand, he indicated to National Journal reporters and editors that he was not setting up a political action committee or other pre-campaign apparatus and would not be making the forays into early states that others were. Yet he did say that he wants to be a part of the 2012 conversation, particularly the discussion of the party’s direction, and he did add that he would not rule out a potential race.

Although all Republican presidential contenders speak in reverential tones about President Reagan, both Barbour and Daniels served on the Reagan White House staff — Daniels had already put in two years as executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, while Barbour went on to become chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Suffice it to say that this isn’t the first rodeo for either one, and both are exceedingly well versed in national politics. — National Journal