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Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, insinuated this morning that the organization has effectively conceded the Colorado governor's race between Republican Dan Maes, Democrat John Hickenlooper and Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo.

Barbour explained that in the interest of efficiency, the RGA does not dole out its funding to sheer winners or sheer losers.

"In Colorado, we have to look at, 'how does it develop?'" Barbour said. Pushed on the issue, he said, "We have put some money in Colorado." He added, "Past tense," to snickers around the room in the briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Maes has had a series of stumbles in the race after a surprise primary victory over former Rep. Scott McInnis. He trails Hickenlooper significantly in the polls.

Barbour fielded a handful of questions on governors' races as he reiterated his oft-stated non-denial about whether he will run for president in the next campaign cycle - that he will wait until after the midterms are over to make that decision.

As far as the midterms are concerned, Barbour warned his Republican colleagues, "We will be outspent in most states." He also advised against complacency: "This campaign just started.... We've got a long way to go."

In answering a reporter's question about why Republicans are better now that the public has largely soured on the Democrats, Barbour could not offer specifics. "They in a very unified fashion have opposed bad laws," Barbour said of Republicans in Washington.

He complained that Democrats are driven by bad policy and that voters appreciate Republican attempts to try and stop it. Almost as an afterthought, he added that the GOP has offered alternatives but that the media has not given them much attention.

For as much as he picked on Democratic failures and how Republicans can capitalize on them now, Barbour's answers did give a few glimpses into how a 2012 race against President Obama might play out.

He lavished praise on Michelle Obama several times but pointed out that less is known about the commander in chief than about his predecessors, and he took one question off the table that some on the fringes of the GOP have uttered recently. "I accept totally at face value that he's a Christian," Barbour said. "Do I think there's a vast right-wing conspiracy? No ma'am."

For his part, Barbour's not shying away from his own background. "I'm a lawyer, lobbyist and a politician. That's the trifecta," he said. "I won't shy away from my career as a lobbyist. I think it's a pretty good one."