I Heart Huckabee
For those of you who don't know, I endorsed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for President in June. Since I first met him several months ago, I knew that this man was of the highest caliber in all respects: a family man, a man of faith, a man of character and strong moral fiber. He's a man of vision who can articulate the principles that make this nation great. Mike Huckabee is a leader -- he's the leader that we need for the dawn of the 21st century.
He's still the dark horse candidate, but after his seemingly-miraculous 2nd place finish in the Iowa straw poll, Mike Huckabee looks poised to become a first-tier candidate. Here are some recent news items about him:
The NH Union Leader: See Huckabee: A candidate to consider: "Of all the lesser-known GOP candidates, Huckabee has impressed us the most. He is articulate, sharp, and well-versed on more topics than one would expect a small-state governor to be knowledgeable about... But he is a credible White House contender, and one who deserves a closer look from Republican and independent voters."
National Review: They Like Mike: "When it was all over, there was no doubt that the winner of the day was Huckabee..."
New York Times: For a Joke-Telling Candidate, a Second-Place Finish: "But for those who have followed Mr. Huckabee as he has traveled across the country these past six months, he has distinguished himself in another way: as a candidate of considerable humor who stands apart in this oh-so-serious field of presidential contenders..."
The Jerusalem Post: Huckabee's visit to Yad Vashem stirs Republicans
The New Republic: Viva Huckabee!
"...The other two campaigns [Romney and Brownback] bought hundreds, if not thousands, more straw-poll tickets than the number of votes they received. (Straw poll attendees must obtain a $35-ticket in order to vote. Campaigns typically buy them up and distribute them to supporters.) Huckabee bought around 1800 tickets and received almost 2600 votes. Clearly, Romney and Brownback dropped a lot of cash on people who ended up voting for someone else, and that someone else was probably Huckabee... It's not hard to imagine a lot of undecideds and soft Romney and Brownback supporters listening to Huckabee's speech, then walking into the lobby and pulling the lever for him.
"Whatever the case, it's hard to overstate the significance of Huckabee's performance here. Combined, Huckabee and Brownback--the field's two leading social conservatives--outpolled Mitt Romney today 33 to 31.5. If, as the results suggest, Huckabee emerges as the lone standard bearer for this group, he'll probably end up with a block of support to rival Romney's. (Most "Brownbackers" I spoke to would feel extremely comfortable throwing their support behind the Arkansan.) But, of course, just combining Brownback's and Huckabee's numbers actually way understates Huckabee's potential ceiling. For one thing, he's come this far running on fumes. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the fundraising boost he'll enjoy after today. On top of that, there seem to be a lot of social conservatives currently supporting Romney because he's running as the most conservative of the top-tier candidates. Now that Huckabee has demonstrated his viability, it's not hard to imagine him peeling off a decent number of Romney's conservative backers."
He's still the dark horse candidate, but after his seemingly-miraculous 2nd place finish in the Iowa straw poll, Mike Huckabee looks poised to become a first-tier candidate. Here are some recent news items about him:
The NH Union Leader: See Huckabee: A candidate to consider: "Of all the lesser-known GOP candidates, Huckabee has impressed us the most. He is articulate, sharp, and well-versed on more topics than one would expect a small-state governor to be knowledgeable about... But he is a credible White House contender, and one who deserves a closer look from Republican and independent voters."
National Review: They Like Mike: "When it was all over, there was no doubt that the winner of the day was Huckabee..."
New York Times: For a Joke-Telling Candidate, a Second-Place Finish: "But for those who have followed Mr. Huckabee as he has traveled across the country these past six months, he has distinguished himself in another way: as a candidate of considerable humor who stands apart in this oh-so-serious field of presidential contenders..."
The Jerusalem Post: Huckabee's visit to Yad Vashem stirs Republicans
The New Republic: Viva Huckabee!
"...The other two campaigns [Romney and Brownback] bought hundreds, if not thousands, more straw-poll tickets than the number of votes they received. (Straw poll attendees must obtain a $35-ticket in order to vote. Campaigns typically buy them up and distribute them to supporters.) Huckabee bought around 1800 tickets and received almost 2600 votes. Clearly, Romney and Brownback dropped a lot of cash on people who ended up voting for someone else, and that someone else was probably Huckabee... It's not hard to imagine a lot of undecideds and soft Romney and Brownback supporters listening to Huckabee's speech, then walking into the lobby and pulling the lever for him.
"Whatever the case, it's hard to overstate the significance of Huckabee's performance here. Combined, Huckabee and Brownback--the field's two leading social conservatives--outpolled Mitt Romney today 33 to 31.5. If, as the results suggest, Huckabee emerges as the lone standard bearer for this group, he'll probably end up with a block of support to rival Romney's. (Most "Brownbackers" I spoke to would feel extremely comfortable throwing their support behind the Arkansan.) But, of course, just combining Brownback's and Huckabee's numbers actually way understates Huckabee's potential ceiling. For one thing, he's come this far running on fumes. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the fundraising boost he'll enjoy after today. On top of that, there seem to be a lot of social conservatives currently supporting Romney because he's running as the most conservative of the top-tier candidates. Now that Huckabee has demonstrated his viability, it's not hard to imagine him peeling off a decent number of Romney's conservative backers."