TIME magazine article begins:
"He didn't even really care," Huckabee told me about his grade school opponent, as we drove through Des Moines in January of 2007. "He didn't even want to be on the student council. His friends put him up to it at the last minute to be funny. And I was really serious about it. He wasn't. And I thought, golly, what a deal he's got."
People tell themselves stories to survive, and politicians probably more than most. They weave mythologies to keep them going in the face of ridiculous conditions: sleepless weeks of unending town hall meetings, airplane flights, conference calls and attacks on their character, not to mention the microscopic glare of the carnivorous press always predicting their coming demise. For Huckabee, the tale that keeps him going has its roots before puberty, in that student council election. He still sees himself as he was then, the outsider with the skill and determination to out-hustle the world's popular kids.
And, golly, what a job he has done. His concession to John McCain Tuesday night capped off a remarkable year-long odyssey that took the nation and Iowa by storm, defied the expectations of his critics and, ultimately, help set the stage for McCain's nomination. "We started this effort with very little recognition and virtually no resources," Huckabee deadpanned from a hotel ballroom in Irving, Texas, as he took his final bow. "We ended with slightly more recognition and very few resources."
From the beginning of his presidential run, Huckabee was counted out. The list of particulars went on without end: He lacked the money, the connections, the Washington advisors and the endorsements. He was too openly religious. He had a funny last name and crooked teeth, and the fiscal conservatives didn't trust him. His books offered oddly quaint instructions, like "report litter" and "don't swear." He had once supported the release from prison of a rapist, Wayne DuMond, who went on to commit murder. His campaign staff could, for a time, be counted on one hand, then two. He was never expected to be a serious factor.
Byron York at National Review Online wrote:
...That was the key to Huckabee’s win in Iowa. Romney was paying people left and right; he had a huge paid staff in the state. Huckabee was receiving the help of volunteers who made their own campaign materials for him and made sure they were distributed; who worked phone banks; who flocked to the caucuses. In the end, the battle in Iowa, which many observers thought would be about organization, was really about intensity, and Huckabee had it.
But he couldn’t transfer it to the other early states, and a long losing streak followed. Big primaries — New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina, Florida — came and went without Huckabee victories. Later, there were wins in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Kansas. But never, after the Iowa glow faded, did Huckabee seriously challenge for the Republican nomination.There were a lot of reasons.
Certainly Huckabee managed to irritate two legs of the Republican three-legged stool, alienating economic and national-security conservatives while relying disproportionately on the support of social conservatives. But in some ways, the answer was much simpler than that.This just wasn’t Huckabee’s year, at least not in the Republican primaries. As governor, he was deeply concerned with issues like health care and education, and not so concerned with Iraq and national security. When I interviewed him in Iowa, just before the straw poll, he seemed frustrated by the Republican emphasis on the war. Like the other candidates, he supported President Bush’s troop surge, but he wasn’t sure there was much more to talk about.
He was seldom asked about Iraq at his campaign appearances, Huckabee told me, and he couldn’t figure out why it dominated debates. “Among the Republican candidates, there’s really very little separation about Iraq, with the exception of Ron Paul,” he said. “And yet, we still go back through it over and over and over again, and I just never quite understood why we continued to plow the same ground when there were so many topics we never touched. Do you realize that in four debates we never had a single question on education? Not one. And two on health care, that I can recall.”
On those rare occasions when the topics came up in debate, Huckabee did very well. But as time went on, the GOP race became more and more about who would be the best commander-in-chief, and John McCain had that one wrapped up. There was no way Huckabee could compete, whatever his political gifts.
But who knows what will happen next time around? If there is a contested GOP race in 2012, Huckabee will almost certainly be there. He’ll be a stronger candidate if he spends the next few years studying up and filling the gaps in his knowledge. But the bottom line is that he’s a dazzlingly talented politician in a party that is not exactly full of dazzlingly talented politicians. You’ll see him again.
The Christian Post concludes:
Whatever lies in the political future of Huckabee, he is now considered by many within and outside the Christian community as the new face of the evangelical movement – a nicer and more open-minded Christian who reflects the new evangelical center.
Huckabee's Future Still Bright is the title of an AP story.
But, whatever the future is, Huckabee is taking this moment to transition and relax. In a letter to supporters, Mike Huckabee wrote:
It seems as if winter is chasing me wherever I go! It's snowing hard in Little Rock today--in March, for heaven's sake! After spending the past few months mostly in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and other "snow states," I thought we'd seen the last of winter. But NO--it snowed in Texas and now in Little Rock. I would head to South Florida, but would hate to cause a snowstorm in Miami.
I want to thank all of you for the incredible encouragement that you've been giving to Janet and me these past few days. We read the blogs daily and get such a lift from the thoughtful and gracious things people are sayinig. It really does overwhelm us with gratitude.
While many of our staff have left to find jobs and to head to wherever home is for a while, a few are still in the office trying to pack things up and go through the process of closing the doors. This will take a while--we weren't planning on this, but rather had planned on not closing until January of 2009.
We will keep the website active, although it may be updated on a more limited basis instead of hourly--we will communicate with you what's next. We are trying to formulate the plans for transitioning into an effort to work to help the cause in this year's elections and then to continue having an impact on policy and issues beyond.
One thing I'm convinced of--you have worked too hard and made too many sacrifices for us to just "quit." That's not an option for any of us. The reason we all worked so hard is to make a better future for coming generations--as I often said, this isn't about just the next election, but the next generation. That battle is far from over.
I've spent the past couple of days trying to find the bottom of my desk, make calls, and re-connect with our "boys" (the 3 dogs--Jet, Sonic, and Toby) who haven't seen much of us the past few months. We are trying to find some time to get away for a few days, but not sure when or where just yet. There's still a lot of things to get done right now.
One of my immediate concerns is for our incredible staff. Pray for them that they will all find good jobs soon. Many gave up very good careers to come to work for us at a fraction of their salaries. They have worked 20 hour days for months without rest or vacation. One of my priorities is to make sure they land on their feet. We have some amazing people with truly remarkable gifts.
I will keep in touch through the website and hope to be able to announce in the near future some plans that will hopefully keep us all connected for what the future might still hold. I do not for one moment believe that our mission has been accomplished--just started. I hope you feel the same. We may be delayed, but not
deterred!I appreciate you all more than I have the capacity to communicate. Have a great weekend. Janet and I will be in our own church for the first time in a long time and that will be great.
Now, it's time to get back to sorting through months of things that have been stacking up and watching the snow make me think I'm back in Iowa! God bless you all!
With deep love for all.
[Mike Huckabee]
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