Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the winner of the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, is the keynote speaker at today’s Iowa Republican Party state convention. A few moments ago I got to chat with Huckabee and he made a point of revealing the title of his next book — due in bookstores in November — is titled "I Love Iowa." The first question I asked was about being presumptive GOP nominee John McCain’s running mate, concluding with a direct: "Have you been vetted?"
"Oh, I think I have through the process. Once you’ve been a candidate and have gone as far as I did, your vetting was by about 300 members of the national press corps and every publication in the country. If you’re asking me have I had an official contact from the McCain campaign, no I have not. In all candor, no. No one has said, ‘Hey, I need your tax form.’ I mean I think if a person has been a candidate, they have already been scrutinized. Most everything they want or need to know is in some public record somewhere.
"….I don’t expect to be asked. I really don’t. It’s pretty clearly obvious that what I’m doing — I’m not sitting around waiting on the phone to ring and right now it would really mess up a lot of things I have going," Huckbee concluded, with a laugh, "so I’m clearly not living with any expectation that (being the GOP’s 2008 vice presidential nominee) is going to happen for me."
Huckabee’s general message to Iowa Republicans?
"Well, we need to get on our feet and get moving. This election’s a very stark contrast. The candidates represent very different positions in platforms. America’s got a very clear choice and I think while a lot of people here would say, ‘Hey, McCain’s not my first choice,’ I’m going to tell them today that he’s not my first choice either. I was my first choice, but I’m not on the ballot this year. There’s two people going to be on the ballot this fall and one of them’s a clear choice over the other one for me."
UPDATE: Here’s the Radio Iowa story, including two audio links to Huckabee’s speech at the Iowa GOP state convention and Huckabee’s interview with Radio Iowa.
MONDAY UPDATE. Here is a link to Huckabee’s website, where Huckabee talks about his travel schedule for the week. Another indication of how busy he is with things other than the veep spot. Here is the key paragraph from Huckabee’s post: "I’m on my way to New York for a few days to meet with Fox News officials and discuss a show I would host as well as appear on numerous Fox programs in the next few days. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a really special opportunity for me—I’ll be subbing for the legendary and immortal Paul Harvey on the ABC Radio Network. As someone whose first job was in local radio in Hope, AR at the age of 14, the thought of subbing for Paul Harvey is truly a special honor."
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Huckabee would soooo enhance Senator McCain’s ticket and get folks excited about the election. McCain is a man of character and integrity but Mike Huckabee is our “Obama” in the sense that he can EXCITE the party, his supporters would swim a flood to vote for him….even as 2nd place on the ticket! He is the MOST experienced in executive matters, good karma with McCain, works well with him and BOTH men have a reputation for being able to work across party lines to get things accomplished. They mesh well and if McCain picks based on shared ideology and what the people want vs. money and pressure he will pick Huckabee
Mike Huckabee fans believe that he would have been the nominee if the media had not destroyed his campaign. We think that John McCain will win the election if Huckabee is the running mate, and lose the election if he is not. If Mitt Romney is chosen, many will vote for Obama.
Mike Huckabee is the one candidate that can really excite the social conservative base. While I agree with Mike that he is unlikely to be called on as a VP candidate, I say that if not, it will be McCain’s loss. I can and will support McCain, but Mike was my first choice.
Huckabee is a moron.
Mike Huckabee talked about kitchen table issues way back in the fall long before any other Republican would say that there was a problem. He has blue collar roots and understands what it is like to worry about paying mortgage, healthcare, food and gasoline bills. He has common sense solutions to these problems because he dealt with these issues in Arkansas. Just one of the many reasons Huckabee was voted as one of the five best governors in Time magazine for 2005.
Huckabee was the only one during the Florida and California debates to say that the rebate checks were not a good idea-Whose economy are we helping? We will borrow the money from China and then purchase Chinese made products. He also talked about getting off of foreign oil as we were funding the terrorists by paying at the pump. He said that becoming energy independent was a top priority and that it could be accomplished within 10 years.
McCain’s hawkishness on earmarks and cutting wasteful spending combined with Huckabee’s idea of on-line accountability for government spending would show that balancing the federal budget isn’t just a pipe dream.
McCain and Huckabee would be a winning team that could take the Republican party into a new generation who stood for strong national defense, strong economic principles, sanctity of human life, sanctity of marriage, and concern for the environment
Huckabee can’t excite the majority of the conservatives, what is wrong with you people? You pay no attention to politics and then give your opinion as something profound. He angered far more than he pleased.
Hopefully Iowa has screwed up for the last time. They need to lose their position as first in the nation due to this Huckabee debacle.
Huckabee is popular with a certain segment, but if McCain really wants to go after Obama and have a VP who can also get things done after the election, he better go with Romney.
Huckabee was nothing more than an empty suit throughout the primary, offering nothing more than “down home” anecdotes about squirrel. His policies were that of a pro-life liberal. As soon as the homeschoolers and die-hard evangelicals realize that previously being a pastor doesn’t automatically make you suited to be President. Social conservatives also need to be reminded that it was your own people who took us out of power in 2006 with their corrupted values. Side note: James Dobson can’t get “enthusiastically behind” John McCain, but was able to back “pro-life, pro-gay” Rudy? Almost as hypocritical as his two-step away from Ted Haggard. You remember him, right? Social conservative pushing for gay marriage ammendment and got caught doing drugs with a male prostitute? How’s that for Iowa values.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee doesn’t have a chance in any election, in my opinion. But I’m biased, I’m a Romney fan boy.
It is a controverial report,however the comment posted by Little Rock Kid is really good.