Huckabee Is in No Hurry To Play Presidential Politics
As the 2008 GOP presidential slate takes shape, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is hinting at his ideological approach even as he holds back a final decision on running.
"I think I would appeal to true conservatives, for whom conservatism doesn't mean they're angry at everybody," Huckabee told the Associated Press in an interview last week. "My brand of conservatism is not an angry, hostile brand. It's one that says 'conservative' means we want to conserve the best of our culture, society, principles and values and pass them on."
  Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, leaving office after 10 years, has not said he will seek the GOP nomination. He also has not said he won't. (By Danny Johnston -- Associated Press) |
Term-limited, Huckabee is leaving the governor's mansion after 2 1/2 terms. He forged a national reputation for health and wellness policy, even losing more than 110 pounds himself.
But if he is eyeing national office, Huckabee did not do much work in 2006 to plant the seeds of a presidential candidacy. That left some to wonder whether he planned to enter the field of Republican candidates, likely to include Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
All three, as well as Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), have begun to explore presidential bids.
"I'm not on anybody else's clock when it comes to making an announcement," Huckabee told the Associated Press. "I feel like there are steps I have to take both personally and politically. It's more important to take the right step instead of the first step."
The governor added: "People say it's all going to be settled by March or April. Who says?"
Referring to the Republican senator from Virginia who lost his reelection bid last month, Huckabee continued: "George Allen was the hottest brand going until he made a little speech that got on YouTube. Now he's gone."
Odd Couple: Bush and Clinton
In his case, people say, war has tarnished his reputation as a leader and cost his party control of Congress. In her case, people say that, for all her supporters, many voters are adamantly opposed to her gaining higher office.
But a new Gallup poll says that President Bush and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) are the most admired man and woman in America. For the past 50 years, the survey organization has asked people who they admire most in America. For the past five years, Bush and Clinton have been mentioned most frequently.
This year, with the president's job-approval numbers in the 30s, 13 percent of the sample said Bush was the man they admired most, followed by 5 percent for former president Bill Clinton, 4 percent for former president Jimmy Carter, 3 percent for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and 3 percent for the Rev. Billy Graham.
Clinton is mentioned by 13 percent as the most admired woman, followed by 9 percent for Oprah Winfrey, 8 percent for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 4 percent for first lady Laura Bush and 2 percent for former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
The results varied by party affiliation. Bush was the most admired man among independents and Republicans, while Bill Clinton led among Democrats. Hillary Clinton was the most admired woman among independents and Democrats, while Rice led among Republicans.
The survey interviewed 1,010 adults Dec. 11-14 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Race Is Over; Spending Isn't
Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.) spent millions of his own money defending his House seat in recent years. Despite lending his campaign well over $2 million, Taylor lost to Democrat Heath Shuler in November. Now it appears he will have to shell out a bit more.
The Federal Election Commission announced last week that Taylor's campaign committee had agreed to pay $91,000 in civil penalties for failing to file disclosures of personal campaign spending in the 2004 election cycle. The law requires candidates who are spending substantial sums of their own money on their campaigns to notify the commission and their opponents.
