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Brother Huck’s Traveling Show Rolls Back Home
Last updated Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:38 PM CST in Columns
By Bob Caudle
The Morning News
Hey look, it’s Huck ... Brother Huck ... Brother Huck’s Travellin’ Salvation Show-ow.
Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone goes, ‘cause everyone knows, Brother Huck’s show.
Former Arkansas Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been hosting a talk show on Faux News since September. On Jan. 5, he is scheduled to begin giving five-minute commentaries twice a day on ABC Radio Networks.
Echoing a complaint he made during the campaign, Huckabee recently said too much attention was made of his past as a Baptist pastor during his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a report on The Morning News web site.
“It was interesting to me that as a candidate for president I was often introduced as a former Baptist pastor, and I’m thinking, hmm, that’s interesting. It’s been nearly 18 years since I was a Baptist pastor, but I was a governor and a lieutenant governor for a longer period than I was ever a pastor,” Huckabee said during a talk at the University of Arkansas Clinton School for Public Service and Institute for Unwed Interns.
He says it still frustrates him “when people make (his past as a minister) the centerpiece of his past, despite the fact that Huckabee made frequent references to his faith while seeking the GOP nomination, including a television campaign ad in which the words “Christian leader” appeared on the screen.
And, during a campaign appearance in Michigan, Huckabee said he favored amending the U.S. Constitution “so it’s in God’s standards.”
Hallelujah. The only thing he didn’t do during the campaign to take away from being a former minister was pass the hat ... and that only because his campaign couldn’t afford a hat.
Huckabee has been mentioned often as a possible Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who will be up for re-election in 2010.
However, Huckabee has said repeatedly he has “no interest whatsoever” in running for the U.S. Senate — which dovetails nicely with the conventional wisdom that no one wants him.
“I can put that one to bed, pull the covers up, tuck it in and give it Ambien. It’s asleep. No way,” Huckabee told reporters
“So for all the speculators who wonder, ‘Well is he really? What’s he really saying?’ what I’m really saying is, it won’t be me,” Huckabee continued.
One phrase you can be sure you’ll be writing in any article about Huckabee is, “Huckabee continued ...”
(Though with Lincoln’s record, almost any candidate is a possible challenger — except for Jim Holt, who showed in the last election against Lincoln that he’s, at best, an impossible challenger.)
Lincoln’s not earned any frequent flyer miles coming to see constituents in Northwest Arkansas, but Huckabee’s not a big favorite in this corner of the state, either.
Many Northwest Arkansas Republicans remember when he called some of them a bunch of “Shiite Republicans.”
And if he ever comes back to Northwest Arkansas where there’s a large number of Republicans present, we now all know to throw our shoes at him — Bush was good for something after all.
Still, Huckabee did not rule out the possibility of a second presidential bid in 2012.
During his talk at the Clinton School, Huckabee said despite losing the Republican presidential nomination to Arizona Sen. John McCain, he has no bitter thoughts about the 2008 presidential race.
“It was the most amazing, wonderful and thrilling experience I’ve ever had,” he said. “People ask, ‘Would you do it again?’ In a heartbeat.”
And people ask, would he lose again? In a heartbeat.
About this columnist
Bob Caudle is a senior reporter with The Morning News. He writes a humorous commentary on local, state and national issues every Sunday. He is an equal opportunity insulter.
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abloger wrote on Dec 30, 2008 12:28 AM:
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