Huckabee: He could be the "real deal"

I have highlighted this guy elsewhere on my blog. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is making some buzz. According to this article by enfamous conservative Michael Medved, he took 18% of the straw vote at the Iowa Straw Poll and seems to be on the upswing. Particularly, he seems to be the first step in the right direction for the Republican Party which so desparately needs to return more to the middle from the far right position they currently portray. This quote is very helpful in understanding Huckabee's strengths in the upcoming elections. Its the bulk of the argument.

First, his distinctly blue-collar, proudly working class background will help to destroy the notion that Republicans are the party of Wall Street and the country club. Mitt Romney may be worth $250 million and is the son of a governor, John McCain’s the son (and grandson) of high ranking admirals, but Huckabee’s the first member of his family ever to graduate from high school. Obama and Romney boast degrees from Harvard, Hillary went to Wellesley and Yale, and McCain graduated (barely) from Annapolis, while Huckabee earned his degree (in two-and-a-half years) from Ouachita Baptist University. During reconstruction on the Arkansas governor’s mansion, the Huckabees (he’s been married to his high school sweetheart for 33 years) lived proudly in a trailer to save the taxpayers money. And speaking of double-wides…. his recent loss of 110 pounds (and completion of numerous grueling marathons) helps him connect with the American majority that fights the daily battle of the bulge. After freakishly fit contenders like the Skull-and-Bones duo Bush and Kerry, it’s refreshing to consider a candidate who’s so much more like the rest of us. The old Democratic class warfare tactics simply won’t work against Huckabee—his personal style and background make it impossible to associate him with some privileged elite. The second big advantage of a Huckabee nomination involves his ability to suppress any third party vote on the right. A recent analysis by the Rasmussen polling operation suggests that in the likely event that Hillary becomes the Democratic candidate we’re in for another extremely close election. The American people have already largely made up their minds about Senator Clinton --- her name produces very few responses of “undecided” or “don’t know.” Unless she commits some major gaffe after getting the nomination, her vote total won’t fall below 45%, and stands little chance of rising above 50%. This means that the election – like those of ’92, ’96, and 2000 – will almost certainly produce a President with a popular vote minority, with fringe party candidates playing a decisive role. In 2000, Ralph Nader on the left drew nearly three times as many votes as Pat Buchanan on the right; without the Nader factor, Al Gore would have won a clear-cut victory no matter how the votes were counted. In 2008, there will definitely be more third and fourth party candidates – former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (or Nader again) on the left, and Alan Keyes or Minuteman Jim Gilchrist or, conceivably, Tom Tancredo on the right. If Rudy Giuliani became Republican standard bearer, an angry right-winger could draw 3% or more of the vote and easily tilt the election toward Hillary. With a Huckabee candidacy, on the other hand, a self-righteous anti-abortion, anti-immigration, anti-globalism fringe campaign becomes less powerful (and less necessary, for that matter). Those who worry that international conspirators are subverting American sovereignty as part of some CFR or Neo-Con conspiracy will feel far less fearful of Huckabee than of any other major candidate. Finally, there’s the current press infatuation with the former Arkansas governor – a rare blessing for any conservative. They like Huckabee not only because he’s charming and funny, but because the media love a good underdog story. An under-funded candidate who comes out of nowhere (and Hope, Arkansas is just about nowhere) to challenge the big boys makes a great, inspiring yarn and helps sell newspapers or win TV viewers. The other contenders have all done something (or many things) to alienate the press: Giuliani made enemies of most national media during his tough-guy years as Mayor of New York, McCain looked like he betrayed his cherished “maverick” status when he reached out to conservative Christians, Thompson has delayed and dilly-dallied much too long before entering the race and facing the press, while Mitt Romney has begun to earn a reputation for smiling evasiveness in confronting tough questions.

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