A steady stream of possible candidates for the 2008 Republican
presidential nomination have come through South Carolina since the
beginning of the year.
They have included U.S. Sen. George Allen of Virginia,
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy
Giuliani, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, U.S. Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and now Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee.
Huckabee was in town Oct. 1 to address a GOP fund-raiser on the
grounds of the Governor’s Mansion.
Five days later, Huckabee returned in his capacity as chairman of
the National Governor’s Association to tour a Charleston health fair
with Gov. Mark Sanford — yet another potential presidential
candidate.
Huckabee, a presidential long shot, dutifully answered reporters’
questions.
Yes, he is considering a run for the White House. No, he is not
down here testing the political waters. And, yes, he is “flattered”
and “honored” to be mentioned among the dozen or so who are said to
be weighing a presidential bid.
South Carolina has become a critical battlefield in the GOP
primary process. In recent years, the state — along with more
traditional primary early birds of Iowa and New Hampshire — has
helped define and even settle the battle for the Republican
nomination.
A September survey of S.C. — conducted by GOP pollster Whit Ayres
for the health insurance industry — showed Giuliani and U.S. Sen.
John McCain of Arizona in a virtual dead heat among those who
identified themselves as Republicans.
Giuliani led with 25 percent, followed by McCain with 22 percent.
Huckabee didn’t register, and 40 percent were undecided.
In the same poll, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York was the
overwhelming choice of S.C. Democrats at 44 percent. No one else
came close.
Fifty-eight percent of those polled said they would vote in the
GOP presidential primary; the rest said they would vote in the
Democratic contest.
Huckabee, 49, is an intriguing person, just the kind of candidate
who could catch fire here.
Having spent a significant part of his adult life as a pastor and
denominational leader, he is a darling of Christian conservatives
who make up a lion’s share of the S.C. GOP primary vote. He led the
Arkansas Baptist State Convention, the largest denomination in the
state.
He says those experiences gave him a deep sense of the problems
faced by individuals and families.
But some Republicans might not like Huckabee because he’s not
partisan enough.
For instance, he likes — squeamish GOP voters are warned to look
away at this point — President Clinton.
“I’m not one of those Republicans who seethes with anger every
time I see or hear him,” Huckabee says. “He’s a very gregarious
person. I find it impossible not to like him on a personal
level.”
The governor also is not one who thinks Republicans are always
right and Democrats are always wrong.
“That is naive and even immature for anybody in politics to be so
blind,” he says. “I couldn’t do my job as governor of Arkansas if I
were a blind partisan.”
Here’s why: 86 percent of all elected officials in Arkansas are
Democrats.
“It would be a ticket to nowhere for me if I were to say, ‘I’m
not going to talk to those people because I don’t think anything
they could come up with has any value,’ “ Huckabee says. “My
experience is that I get a lot more traction from folks who aren’t
like me than sitting around in a room full of folks who agree with
everything I say.
“At that point, my ideas are not going to be tested or
sharpened.”
Huckabee’s a long shot who bears watching.
Lee Bandy’s political column normally runs in Impact
