Haley Barbour: It's possible that Mitch Daniels could be nominated at the convention

In such a situation — and he repeatedly cautions that the possibility is remote — Barbour acknowledges that an outside candidate could emerge as a consensus nominee. “It is unlikely but not out of the question,” he says. “The operative word is ‘could.’ Could? Yeah. Likely? No.”

Barbour is aware of the clamor in certain circles for his friend Indiana governor Mitch Daniels to enter the fray. Once again, “It is highly unlikely but it could happen,” he says. “It is certainly more of a possibility than ever in the past. However, in the past, the possibility was zero, so to say the odds are higher than zero is not something that, I think, you’re going to want to bet on.”

Daniels says he will not reconsider. But should he? “I would have liked it if he had run. He decided not to. That was his decision,” Barbour says. “I’m not going to get in the business of telling any friend of mine, ‘This is what you ought to do.’ I’m not going to do it publicly or privately. And I haven’t done it, publicly or privately.”