MIKE HUCKABEE FOR PRESIDENT?
I watched Mike Huckabee on Fox News Sunday this morning. I think he hit it out of the ballpark! Huckabee gets better ever time I see him and where I was discounting his campaign a few months ago, now I have to give him a second look. Could Mike Huckabee really be president?
Mike was a Baptist minister before getting into politics. I never met him as govenor but I did meet him when he preached at Beech Street Baptist Church in Texarkana. I was PD at a the local News/Talk station and we carried programming from his church. I also did some work for Acts TV, the local, low power, TV station that his church funded and grew into a great community asset. My sister also did some volunteer work on his campaign for Lt. Govenor. I know that Mike Huckabee is genuinely concerned about people on a personal level, but he is also concerned about the institutions that are charged with serving people, the church and government.
Running a church, especially a large church, is like running a large business. It requires skill, ingenuity and determination. Fortunately, everyone believes the employee handbook is gospel…because it is. It’s the bible, but none-the-less, the pastor is ultimately the only personal responsible for the sacred trust of running a multi-faceted instituion that has the sole mission of serving people. That’s some good experience for a president to have, don’t you think?
As govenor of Arkansas, Huckabee was only the fourth Republican govenor in the state’s history. Arkansas is a Democrat stronghold and a Republican govenor has few friends to turn too. Huckabee also inherited a state in termoil from a scandal-ridden administration and suffering from #49 syndrome. (Thank God for Mississippi!) Huckabee did preside over some substantial tax increases, but there were some extenuating circumstances. A couple of lawyers sued the state on behalf of a poor rural school district in Southeast Arkansas and the Supreme Court ended up ordering the state to do something about it. That ultimately lead to higher taxes and some tough decisions. Arkansas’ roads also need vast improvements and Huckabee did something about it.
I was impressed with his Fox News Sunday appearance and the way he handled questions about his record, his personality his campaign. He was honest and didn’t parse any words.
I was also shocked to learn that he is proposing a consumtion tax to replace the income tax. I’m concerned because there are a lot of entities with a vested interest in keeping the income tax just the way it is, but if you go to his web site, www.mikehuckabee.com, and read about his consumption tax proposal, it makes a lot of sense.
I guess what I’m saying is, I am still undecided about who I think would be a good candidate for president, but the more I look, the more I like Mike.
Doug Says: November 19th, 2007 at 5:01 am
The emerging “makes sense” candidate is Governor Mike Huckabee. As Commander in Chief of the Arkansas National Guard, he’s got legitimate Homeland and National Defense Credentials. He’s got Executive experience. His theological training and practice grounds his conservative beliefs in his faith in God and Jesus Christ.
What can I do to help advance this campaign?
Evrviglnt Says: November 19th, 2007 at 5:10 am
I agree with you, Buck. Huckabee is a charming candidate, and with the prospect of another Clinton presidency comes another 4 – 8 years of political diarrhea and kook craziness (this time from the right). I think by November of next year America will want to wash its hands – Huckabee might be the change we need…
Emory Says: November 19th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I have been watching Huckabee for a while now and he is growing on me as well. He did a great job on the Fox interview, but it is too bad he had to spend so much time defending himself against those accusations which seemed pretty frivolous to me. I want to hear more about his policies, how he would implement the fair tax and of course more of that Reaganesque humor.
muckdog Says: November 21st, 2007 at 12:20 am
I think he’s probably vying for a Vice President spot at this time, though…
nutslikebush Says: November 21st, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Just got this in my inbox from FactCheck.org and thought I would forward it to ya’ll, just in case you cared. Full article at FactCheck.org.
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In recent interviews on Fox News, Huckabee responded to some of these questions, but we found him to be misleading and incorrect on several points:
Huckabee claimed that a speech in which he implored the state Legislature to raise taxes was in response to a state Supreme Court order to increase education funding. But he specifically said in that speech that he would address the education matter at a later date.
He said a tax on beds filled in nursing homes was a “fee” not a tax, despite the fact that he himself has called it the “bed tax.”
Huckabee claimed a gasoline tax was only passed after 80 percent of voters approved it. Not true. The tax was enacted before a referendum vote on highway repairs.
He frequently says he cut taxes “almost 94 times” but leaves out the 21 taxes raised during his tenure. In the end, he presided over a net tax increase.
Also, we find that former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson stretched the truth in claiming that Arkansas’ spending had doubled under Huckabee. It didn’t increase that much, and Huckabee left a sizable surplus.
nutslikebush Says: November 21st, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Huckabee is going to be on Hardball tonight and one of the things he is going to talk about is the allegations in Scott McClelland’s new book in which McClelland claims he was sent out to face the press corps and deliver information about Rove and Libby’s roles in the CIA operative outing case that his superiors knew was false. About these allegations Huckabee will say:
“It’s stunning. It’s one of those moments where I’m glad to not be a Washington insider…they are serious allegations but we don’t know whether they’re true…they deserve to be thoroughly investigated and the truth brought to the American people.”
nutslikebush Says: November 27th, 2007 at 2:23 am
Interesting interview with Huckabee on Charlie Rose show. charlierose.com/features/charlie-rose-special-edition—the-candidates
Emory Says: November 29th, 2007 at 5:22 am
Just saw the Republican YouTube debate. Huckabee was very impressive.
nutslikebush Says: November 30th, 2007 at 4:28 am
I was just watching the Huckabee interview on Charlie Rose (Rose is a good interviewer) and 20 minutes into it Huckabee said that the thing we need to do is to focus on the things that we all agree on and get away from the things that polarize our country. Any takers?
There are a few issues he discussed in the interview that he doesn’t have a good understanding of, which happen to be areas in which I do have real expertise; evolution and stem cell research (I study adult stem cells, but follow the embryonic stem cell work closely). But very few people really understand those topics (because there is so phenomenally much misinformation out there confusing the general public) so I won’t hold that against him. He seems like a decent fellow so far. I will watch the rest of the interview tomorrow.
nutslikebush Says: November 30th, 2007 at 4:39 am
He is obviously a really bright person. A breath of fresh air compared to what we have had to deal with for the past 7 years. A world of difference between him and Bush.