Barbour: 2012 decision will be independent of other candidates

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) said Sunday he'll make his decision on wether to run for president in April, and that decision wouldn't depend on which candidates jump into the race in the meanwhile.

Barbour, the former Republican Governors Association (RGA) chairman who's considering running, wouldn't outline his criteria for deciding whether or not to run, only to say that it was mostly a family decision.

He reiterated that the decision would come in April, at the end of his state legislature's session.

In the interim, other candidates may well formally enter the race. The 2012 cycle is getting off to a relatively late start compared to earlier years, though former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) is reportedly preparing to start up an exploratory committee within the next 10 days.

Barbour said his ultimate decision, though, wouldn't be premised off of any other candidates' decisions. 

"Whether or not somebody else runs is irrelevant to my own decision," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Earlier in the interview, Barbour hailed the political skills of President Obama, the man who Barbour would hope to beat in 2012, should he run.

"The president is one of the greatest politicians in the history of the United States," Barbour said.