Mike Huckabee a Political Profile
by Mike who? Most Americans hear "Huckabee" and think (a) it’s a spin-off restaurant from the Applebee’s chain, or (b) that Fox Searchlight movie from 2004 with Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin. But, no Mike Huckabee is a real candidate with real ambitions, and he has lately surged ahead in the polls, trouncing John McCain and giving Rudy Giuliani some serious heat, despite Huckabee’s having raised only a paltry sum of campaign contributions so far. So what kind of President will he make?
People who recall well the Clinton administration will recognize something special in Huckabee: he’s got charisma to spare. While Clinton showed everybody how cool he was by playing the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show, earning criticism from the right wing that he was “the MTV President”, Huckabee can rock out with a bass guitar with his band, “Capitol Offense”. So who’s the MTV candidate now? Huckabee also has the advantage of being an ordained Southern Baptist minister and a professional public speaker, so he can give a great speech and he won’t need to rely on speech-writers and cue-cards.
Huckabee spent his first term as Governor of Arkansas doing largely bread-and-butter civic functions. He attended to trivial matters like managing taxes and instituting a new school program and a health insurance plan. Nothing too radical or controversial here. He did run aground of some minor auditing from the Arkansas Ethics Commission over inappropriate use of funds and failing to report a minor contribution, but otherwise managed to stay level.
His second term saw some more tax tweaking and another school improvement program. His most famous act of 2000 was to move into a trailer home on the grounds of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion while the mansion was being renovated. Although the trailer was barely roomy enough and was a humbling dwelling for a Governor and his family, the move saved the state a costly sum since they didn’t have to relocate his entire staff, had he chosen fancier digs elsewhere in town. He was also was named ?Friend of a Taxpayer? by Americans for Tax Reform in 2001.
One cannot escape the religious influence on the Governor. He has been the very model of a “Christian Conservative”, moving to increase the sacredness of the marriage act by instituting covenant marriages, and proclaiming October “Student Religious Liberty Month” in an effort to encourage kids to pray in school. He has of course sided with pro-life issues, and has delivered impassioned speeches outlining why he felt pro-life is important.
For being fiscally conservative, he has used tobacco companies as a cash cow, first funneling all funds from the state’s tobacco settlement into the health care system, then increasing cigarette taxes later. He has raised taxes some, but overall has done the minimum necessary to balance the books. During his time in office, welfare rolls declined by nearly half while the state’s economy grew at a rate faster than the national average.
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