Although we on this happy Corner have provided our readers with many good and compelling reasons to withhold their support from Mike Huckabee, I believe we would all agree, we have devoted almost no time to the man’s virtues. In a few hours, if the polls are to be trusted, the former governor of Arkansas will become the putative frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, and it occurred to me that we ought to do an honest job of attempting to understand his appeal. To this end, three items.
The first, an email from a friend who is supporting Huckabee, in reply to my simple question, What in the Sam Hill do you think you’re doing? I’d add that my friend is young, supremely intelligent, entrepreneurial–he left a big law firm to launch a career as a singer and composer–and hip in the way the only people in the music business can be.
I’m sitting here in my “Reagan in ‘80” t-shirt, fired up about seeing the results tonight. And it all starts with Reagan for me. As a five-year old I was inspired to send your old boss 50 cents of my own money because something about him resonated with me. I suspect it was his optimism, his faith in the greatness of America and his overall goodness that was apparent to me even at that young age. Huckabee over the last six months has inspired me in a way that no one else has in the ensuing 28 years…for many of those same reasons. Beyond his optimism and goodness, I think it’s good to have a Republican talking about uniting the country and lifting it up, who cares about addressing all of our society’s problems, including poverty, health care and education, issues that are typically ceded to the Democrats. I like the fact that he has considerable executive experience, but is a Washington outsider. I think on balance his record as a governor is terrific. The Republican “establishment” hasn’t done such a bang-up job recently, so I’m rather glad he’s not a part of it. I like that he’s as concerned about small business as he is about big business. And of course, I love that he’s a musician! On top of all that, I love the idea that a guy who heretofore has been outspent 20-1 and has all the self-appointed powers that be aligned against him could still win the Iowa Caucus and conceivably the nomination simply because of his ability to communicate and inspire the voters with his message. I could go on, but…I’ll spare you. 🙂
One final thing, I think Democrats who underestimate his ability to win in the fall do so at their own peril. I, for one, am rooting for a Huckabee / McCain ticket.
The final two items: clips from Huckabee’s performance yesterday evening on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Even if you watch these clips in the same frame of mind I was in when I watched them–I did not want to like Huck–I think you’ll find the former governor almost preternaturally hard to resist. Relaxed, funny, persuasive, and just so darned likeable. To spend ten minutes with the likely winner of tonight’s GOP caucuses, click below.