VP Options: Mike Huckabee
Hey folks, I'm back after being quite busy the past two weeks. I thought I would resume my series of VP Options. As you may recall, previously I examined both Condi Rice and Mitt Romney. I was going to review Fred Thompson next, but with Fred taking his name out of consideration, I won't do that. So, the next person I thought I would examine is Mike Huckabee.
I'm no fan of Huckabee myself, but here are some of his positives. He is the former Governor of an important must-win state, Arkansas. He is personally likeable. He ran a tough race on a low budget. He is certainly solid on most social issues, and would help with evangelicals.
The negatives are that his record is quite spotty, and that with conservatives as a whole, he's not inspiring. His record on accepting gifts and with criminals is full of holes that ObamaClinton could easily exploit. Word is that the most common phrase used in Arkansas prisons during Huckabee's term was "Pardon Me."
That said, he remains an option and must be discussed.
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Huckabee - great choice
for VP. Huckabee's campaign was built around connecting with the middle class voter - turns out this is what the election is all about. He was the first to mention the downturn in the economy and its affect on middle America and understands kitchen table issues. His ability to relate with voters and articulate his convictions are second to none. Social conservatives admire his authentic pro-life stance, and his high approval rating in Arkansas could help propel the state into Republican territory this fall.
Your choice of negatives.
Could you elaborate on your use of the word 'spotty' when referring to Gov. Huckabee's record? And when you say he's not inspiring to conservatives as a whole, which conservatives are you referring to? The pundit class? The wall-street/blue blood conservatives? The Washington insiders? Mike Huckabee was certainly inspiring to me; he inspired me to get involved in a campaign for the first time, as well as donate a fair chunk of my hard earned money.
You bring up the gifts that he accepted but you neglect to mention that he always adhered to the law..Only his political enemies, the Arkansas Democrats, made an issue out of that stuff.
You bring up his record on pardons and clemencies. Are you aware that he denied over 80% of the requests submitted to him? What would be an acceptable percentage? 90% or 100%? I suppose it would have been easy for him to play it safe and deny all of them regardless of the circumstances surrounding each case...which is what another former governor and presidential candidate did.
Democrats won't make issues out of these petty little complaints that some Republicans used to attack Huckabee...they've got bigger fish to fry in the General election.