Because he's the only declared candidate who falls within the KY3 viewing area, this writer will be keeping close tabs on Gov. Mike Huckabee's long-shot 2008 Presidential campaign.In Week 1 of the Huckabee campaign, TIME magazine puts him at 1% in the ever-so-crowded G.O.P field.
"The GOP Deserved It"
During his first stop in Iowa, Huckabee told The Associated Press that Republicans deserved the election spanking they took in November, blaming the G.O.P's poor showing on "voters who concluded the party wasn't competent to run the government."
"I think the reality has set in that Republicans got beat because they deserved to," Huckabee said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, The Hotline is reporting that Huckabee is already distancing himself from the President.
Asked how it could hurt his WH bid by aligning with Bush on Iraq: "I don't think it's going to hurt, because I'm not aligning myself with the president, as much as I am with the troops and the fact that the president has to be able to carry out his strategy" (CNN, 1/29).
"Dark Horse"
On FoxNews, Mara Liasson of National Public Radio, called Huckabee a "dark horse" in the Republican field, because none of the top 3 G.O.P. candidates has a solid connection with the conservative base of the party.
Liasson on the conservative conference in Washington this past weekend:
"Conservatives have not really fallen hard for any of these guys. Mitt Romney got a -- I would say, a warm, but not wildly enthusiastic reception. He didn't give the kind of speech that Jeb Bush gave where he really confronted the problems of Republicans and he didn't mince words. You know, the next day, Mike Huckabee came, he's a dark horse. I think that conservatives are really up for grabs, the three -- none of the three leading candidates really has a bond with the conservative base of the party -- Giuliani, McCain, and Romney. And I think that that's -- you know, this is a base that's to be courted."
"The Rightometer"
The conservative Washington publication Human Events is taking aim at Huckabee for his tax and spending policies. Huckabee received an "F" rating from the CATO Institute for his “insistence on raising taxes at almost every turn throughout his final term." But conservative pundit Rich Lowry says conservatives "will like and enjoy him."
Ethics Complaint
Meanwhile, an ethics complaint has been filed against Huckabee back in Arkansas for ordering the destruction of hard drives of computers used in the Governor's office. A citizen says that just wasn't right. Huckabee said he didn't destroy politics or porn, but "intensely personal information." The Democratic National Committee, of course, jumped on the scuffle.
2 comments:
The last time we put a Bapist in the white house we got Jimmy Carter and in some ways, Huckabee has a similar background. He did do a good job in cleaning up after Tucker and Clinton and might be able to gain some populace appeal with his "change things" message. I thought he was pretty good on Russert Sunday.
He WAS good on Russert Sunday and he took the opportunity to explain the tax raises which took place during his Governorship. Russert asked him some tough questions and he gave good answers, in my opinion. I was impressed with him. He's very articulate.
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