Mike Huckabee won't run in 2012

Fox News: Mike Huckabee said Saturday there would be no sequel to his surprisingly strong 2008 White House bid, in which he won the Iowa Republican caucus and finished second in the primaries to Sen. John McCain.

"All the factors say go, but my heart says no," Huckabee, who was considered the GOP frontrunner in several national polls, said on his Fox News Channel show.

The show is normally prerecorded before it airs at 8 p.m. ET, but Huckabee saved the last 10 minutes of tonight’s broadcast to make his announcement live. [MORE]

I think Huckabee made a wise decision. Unlike Mitt Romney, I think Huckabee realizes that he just doesn't have what it takes for 2012. The base is much more savvy than 2008 and far less forgiving about spotty records.

Despite the media's love of early polling, I believe Huckabee would have struggled to match his 2008 performance. People are looking for far more than witty rhetoric and are clamoring for real fighter. Huckabee's "soft" approach simply will not do.

Without Huckabee in the race, conservatives can continue to focus their attentions on real conservative candidates like Herman Cain, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: Fox News
Video h/t: Mediaite

Huck 2012? Tune in tomorrow

ABC News: UPDATED: Former Arkansas governor and potential presidential aspirant Mike Huckabee is telling a radio audience on Friday that he plans to make “a very important announcement” over the weekend.

“This weekend be sure to catch my Fox News television show,” Huckabee says. “A very important announcement coming this Saturday.”
Huckabee did not elaborate on the nature of the announcement, which he teased on his syndicated radio program “The Huckabee Report.”

“I’m not exactly sure what the content’s going to be,” Hogan Gidley, the executive director of Huckabee's political action committee, told ABC News. “He doesn’t go around throwing around a big announcement for nothing.” [MORE]

I am hoping he is going to say NO. Huckabee has always struck me as a Republican Bill Clinton. A crafty politician who is often too cute by half. A look at Huckabee's record as governor and it is pretty clear he is not a staunch conservative. The last thing we need in 2012 is a president without solid principles or convictions.

The only upside to Huckabee running in 2012 would be to see him do his damnedest to undermine Mitt Romney. Romney could not dispatch Huckabee in 2008 and I doubt he could in 2012. Huck might just be the thing to make sure Romney loses the nomination.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: ABC News
Via: Politico

Huckabee clarifies his Natalie Portman comments

Mike Huckabee has been making quite a bit of noise lately.  First, there was that slip of the tongue about where Obama was raised and now he has gotten into a row over comments about Natalie Portman.

Huckabee:"You know Michael, one of the things that's troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, 'Hey look, you know, we're having children, we're not married, but we're having these children, and they're doing just fine,'" Huckabee said. "But there aren't really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie. And I think it gives a distorted image that yes, not everybody hires nannies, and caretakers, and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out of children wedlock [sic]."

Huckabee made this comment during the same interview where he misstated where Obama was raised. Huckabee has now issued a clarifying statement.

 "In a recent media interview about my new book, A Simple Government, I discussed the first chapter, 'The Most Important Form of Government Is a Father, Mother, and Children,'" Huckabee said in a statement obtained by CNN. "I was asked about Oscar-winner Natalie Portman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Natalie is an extraordinary actor, very deserving of her recent Oscar trophy and I am glad she will marry her baby's father. However, contrary to what the Hollywood media reported, I did not "slam" or "attack" Natalie Portman, nor did I criticize the hardworking single mothers in our country."

 I think Huckabee is correct in his original statement about there being a  risk of glamorizing single motherhood.  Time and time again we witness the struggle single mothers must endure and not always successfully.  That being said, I think if Huckabee is seriously considering running in 2012 then he has to watch out for getting into big battles over social issues.  


I am not saying that social conservative issues are not important [they inevitably ties into economic issues], but anyone looking to beat Obama will have to have "focus like a laser" on economic issues.  Big battles over social issues will only help to create distractions for the left to muddy the waters.  In just one interview, Huckabee has now created two distracting topics for the left.


Via: Memeorandum
Via: The Fix
Via: CNN

Huckabee: "Obama grew up in Kenya"

Mike Huckabee has stirred up a hornet's nest today with these comments he said on the Steve Malzberg show.

Politico: “One thing that I do know is his having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, very different than the average American,” Huckabee said in response.

“If you think about it, his perspective as growing up in Kenya with a Kenyan father and grandfather, their view of the Mau Mau Revolution in Kenya is very different than ours because he probably grew up hearing that the British were a bunch of imperialists who persecuted his grandfather,” Huckabee added.

Huckabee's spokesman has issued a correction.

Says his spokesman Hogan Gidley to POLITICO:

“Governor Huckabee simply misspoke when he alluded to President Obama growing up in ‘Kenya.’ The Governor meant to say the President grew up in Indonesia.”

“When the Governor mentioned he wanted to know more about the President, he wasn’t talking about the President’s place of birth – the Governor believes the President was born in Hawaii. The Governor would however like to know more about where President Obama’s liberal policies come from and what else the President plans to do to this country – as do most Americans.”

The way the left is carrying on over the whole thing, you would swear Huckabee dissed Obama's mother and Michelle too! They are shrieking "birther" all over the place!

I think they are outraged because they know that Huckabee has a way of being too cute by half.  Remember that campaign ad during the primaries?

 

You never could really tell one way or another whether that cross was a fluke or if it was purposely placed there.  This slip of the tongue by Huckabee has the same feel. 

Huckabee has come out saying there is no truth to the birther theory, but with an mere slip of the tongue (Kenya instead of Indonesia) he could be giving a nod to birthers while maintaining credible deniability. 

Do I think Huckabee is sincere when he says it was nothing more than a slip of the tongue?  To tell the truth, I am not sure either way.  That is because I have always found Huckabee to be a Republican version of Bill Clinton.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico

Via: Politico

Via: The State

Video h/t: Mediaite

Huckabee bashes CPAC

 

Politico: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday as outdated, nearly corrupt and unrepresentative of the conservative movement.

Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential contender and potential 2012 candidate who had spoken at the conference for years, said the reason he blew it off this year was that the meeting has become dominated by libertarian activists.

“CPAC has becoming increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the last years, one of the reasons I didn’t go this year,” Huckabee said in an interview with Fox News, where he is a paid analyst and has his own show.

He was responding to a question about whether he was upset by his single-digit showing in the conference’s straw poll, which was won by libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

But it wasn’t the only criticism the Arkansan leveled at CPAC.

Huckabee said the rise of the tea party movement had “taken all of the oxygen out of the room,” rendering the venerable conference far less relevant than it had been in previous years.

“Where CPAC was historically the event, the tea parties are having their ow nevents all over the country and a lot more truly grassroots people are getting involved because of the tea parties,” said the former governor.

If I had to guess what is really sticking in Huckabee’s craw, it would be because he is bitter about becoming less relevant in 2012. Huckabee is GOP old school. He was probably counting on his 2008 showing to propel him to the top in 2012, but now finds that the political sands have shifted and the old paths to the nomination are no longer guaranteed.  Add on the Maurice Clemmons issue and Huckabee’s 2012 chances diminish further.

Bashing CPAC won’t help Huckabee’s situation, grassroots bloggers are already getting ticked off, see Da Techguy, The Lonely Conservative and Left Coast Rebel, just to name a few.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico

Huck PAC releases a very weak statement on Clemmons

From Huck PAC: 

NOVEMBER 29, 2009 - 11:14 PM

STATEMENT REGARDING WASHINGTON STATE SLAYINGS

by Press Team

The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here and in Washington State. The murder of any individual is a profound tragedy, but the murder of a police officer is the worst of all murders in that it is an assault on every citizen and the laws we live within.

Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State. He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state. This is a horrible and tragic event and if found and convicted the offender should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are and should be with the families of those honorable, brave, and heroic police officers. 

This is weak. It seems to try to spread the blame all over the place. Huckabee commuted this guy’s sentence and that is why he was free to roam. It would be nice if Huck and company owned up to this fact.

If there is one thing the electorate is looking for today, it is integrity. That includes owning up to your mistakes, both big and small. This statement reeks of the same old Washington slip and slide when it comes to taking responsibility.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Huck PAC

Maurice Clemmons suspect in Tacoma Police Ambush granted clemency by Huckabee

From Michelle Malkin’s blog: 

A deadly ambush at a coffee shop near Tacoma, Washington on Sunday morning left four police officers dead. A vigil attended by an estimated 700 mourners and well-wishers was held Sunday night for the fallen at Champion’s Center church in Tacoma. Read about the lives, loves, and dedication to service of the fallen officers here.

The man being sought by police was granted clemency by former GOP Arkansas Mike Huckabee despite his violent history and vehement protestations from prosecutors and victims’ family members.

He was most recently in jail for alleged second-degree rape of a child. 

This looks like it's Michael Dukakis time for Mike Huckabee. I wonder if Huckabee had a heads up on this story? Perhaps that is why he told Fox News Sunday yesterday that he was “less than likely to run in 2012”. Clemmons will make a Huckabee 2012 run nearly impossible, especially when you look at Clemmons record, the man should never have seen the light of day. Just read what Clemmons is accused of at the tender age of 17.

From the Seattle Times: 

News accounts out of Arkansas offer a confusing — and, at times, conflicting — description of Clemmons' criminal history and prison time.

In 1990, Clemmons, then 18, was sentenced in Arkansas to 60 years in prison for burglary and theft of property, according to a news account in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Newspaper stories describe a series of disturbing incidents involving Clemmons while he was being tried in Arkansas on various charges.

During one trial, Clemmons was shackled in leg irons and seated next to a uniformed officer. The presiding judge ordered the extra security because he felt Clemmons had threatened him, court records show.

Another time, Clemmons hid a hinge in his sock, and was accused of intending to use it as a weapon. Yet another time, Clemmons took a lock from a holding cell, and threw it toward the bailiff. He missed and instead hit Clemmons' mother, who had come to bring him street clothes, according to records and published reports.

On another occasion, Clemmons had reached for a guard's pistol during transport to the courtroom.

When Clemmons received the 60-year sentence, he was already serving 48 years on five felony convictions and facing up to 95 more years on charges of robbery, theft of property and possessing a handgun on school property. Records from Clemmons' sentencing described him as 5-foot-7 and 108 pounds. The crimes were committed when he was 17.

Clemmons served 11 years before being released.

News accounts say Huckabee commuted Clemmons' sentence, citing Clemmons' young age at the time the crimes were committed.

But Clemmons remained on parole — and soon after landed in trouble again. In March 2001, he was accused of violating his parole by committing aggravated robbery and theft, according to a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

He was returned to prison on a parole violation. But in what appears to have been a mistake, Clemmons was not actually served with the arrest warrants until leaving prison three years later. As a result, Clemmons' attorney argued that the charges should be dismissed because too much time had passed. Prosecutors dropped the charges.

It seems to me that there was much bungling going on in Arkansas. Not just will his getting clemency, but with properly recording Clemmons’ crimes and correctly identifying what a dangerous man he was.

Michelle Malkin puts the blame squarely on Huckabee. She details Huckabee’s history of granting clemency to violent criminals like Maurice Clemmons and Wayne Dumond.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Michelle Malkin

Via: Seattle Times

Mike Huckabee: “less than likely I will run in 2012”…Yeah, right!

From Politico:

Sorry Huck, but I am not buying this.  Today Huckabee’s numbers are looking too good to ignore. He has weekly exposure because of his show. He has been mimicking too many of the Tea Partier’s words and his none too subtle slaps at Sarah Palin, leads me to believe he is going to go for it again.

I am not a big fan of Mike Huckabee. From the get go, he immediately struck me as a Republican Bill Clinton.  Like Clinton he oozes that faux compassion of “I feel your pain”. His overt play for Christian conservatives also reminded me of Clinton’s play to blacks.

In 2008 he could have done a lot better had he dropped the “I am above attacks” nonsense and leveled his guns directly at Romney or McCain.  I am also sure that Huckabee would have tripped up Obama more than once during the debates. I am not too sure how Huckabee will play in 2012. 

In 2012 America will need a no nonsense true believer of fiscal conservatism. Huckabee’s record in Arkansas simply doesn’t measure up to that standard. While Huckabee maybe able to work around that shortcoming in the general election, it is going to be a major hurtle to overcome in the primaries, especially when stacked up against Romney’s record of turning around failed enterprises and Palin’s strong fiscal conservative record.

In the end, Huckabee will be in the race for the White House once again.  The media will be singing his praises because they believe he is beatable. If Huckabee decides to go for it, he had better go all in for trying to win it. Simply sticking around to play the spoiler like last time ain’t gonna cut it.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico