How Huckabee Could Rock the 2008 Vote

Huckabee has never been shy about discussing his beliefs. "My faith is my life," he says on his campaign Web site. "It defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them." At the same time, he avoids the lacerating rhetoric preferred by culture warriors -- a lesson learned from his maiden run for office in 1992, when his tough attacks on Democratic Sen. Dale Bumpers backfired. He has been at his best as a healer; in 1989-90, as head of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, he kept peace between warring moderate and conservative factions, and in 1996, he won widespread praise for deftly handling his awkward ascension to the governorship after the stunning conviction of Democratic Gov. Jim Guy Tucker on charges stemming from the Whitewater investigation.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

The clearest testament to Huckabee's dexterity -- and the staying power of his faith-infused, soft-edged conservatism -- is the very makeup of the 2008 GOP field. In the mid-1990s, Huckabee was a frequently overlooked member of the celebrated corps of Republican Revolution-era governors. The talent pool ran so deep at the time that the party seemed stocked with viable presidential aspirants for decades to come.

But while one of those governors, George W. Bush, found his way to the White House, the others slowly faded. By late 2006, just three governors were in the hunt to succeed Bush -- Huckabee, New York's George Pataki and Wisconsin's Tommy Thompson. Pataki quickly learned that he had no constituency and never entered the race. Thompson did jump in, only to discover that his signature issue, welfare reform, had lost its political saliency.

That leaves Huckabee, the last 1990s-era Republican governor standing in the 2008 race. As his rise shows, religion never goes out of style in American politics. Huckabee's rivals may yet learn that the hard way.

cmahtesian@nationaljournal.com

Charles Mahtesian is the editor

of The Almanac of American Politics.