Huckabee's Heimlich Maneuver May Have Saved Man's Life

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee put the squeeze on a politician at the North Carolina Republican Party convention, but in a good way.

The former Arkansas governor performed the Heimlich maneuver on Robert Pittenger, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, at a lunch Saturday.

Pittenger said he was laughing when he choked on some food.

"I stood up and the governor came over and did the Heimlich and got the relief," Pittenger said. He said the food dislodged when Huckabee applied the trademark Heimlich squeeze to the midsection.

Pittenger added, "In fact he called me in the car as I was driving home to make sure I was OK."

Phone messages left for Huckabee on Saturday were not immediately returned.

Comments

[orianna]

01:49 PM on 06/09/2008

Yet he laughed and joked about someone shooting Obama while speaking at a gun rally. Not a man I care to know anything about.

[ICanHasDemocracy]

11:43 AM on 06/09/2008

The Heimlich is now called the Huck UpChuck maneuver

[SHOPARAZZI]

10:59 AM on 06/09/2008

this was a blatant attempt at auditioning for the veep spot. i heart huckabee. he's a man of character and distinction. too bad he's a republican.

[ErnestineBass]

10:10 AM on 06/09/2008

Hmmm...Heimlich Maneuver...or GOP mating ritual?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

10:48 AM on 06/09/2008

Now THAT was funn... no, make that... was more effective than said maneuver.

;-)

[Softnsweet]

07:51 AM on 06/09/2008

Kudos Mike!

[Glacial]

07:33 AM on 06/09/2008

I disagree with every one of Huckabee's policies that I'm aware of, but thumbs up to him. Not everybody walking around has saved a life.

[MajorKong]

08:38 PM on 06/08/2008

I'll give credit where credit is due. Kudos to Mike Huckabee.

[DanoS]

09:06 PM on 06/08/2008

Come on, I want see the video. Were there witnesses?

This is a roost to build up Huckabee as some hero because McCain is going to pick him for VP. This is to offset that awful joke he made about Obama.

[booksnmore4you]

08:16 PM on 06/08/2008

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Everyone make sure they are rescue certified.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

07:35 PM on 06/08/2008

Huzzah-kabee.

[ManyColored]

06:17 PM on 06/08/2008

I don't agree with his politics, but considering his comments on Obama and his stepping in and doing this, he seems like a pretty decent guy.

[Nolewoman]

12:15 AM on 06/09/2008

I think he is a pretty decent guy, and this was a good thing to do. McSame should keep him around, he will probably need resusitation of one sort or another before he is through in November.

[Plus15]

05:29 PM on 06/08/2008

It's tough to accept that if Huckabee had given some guy a Heimlich a couple of months ago his heroism would obviously have made him a much stronger candidate against John McCain

[PhylNYC]

04:48 PM on 06/08/2008

Not surprised. I think Huckabee is a personally decent guy. Those are the vibes he gives off. He is the kind of person who'd be a great friend as long as you didn''t talk politics or religion! But the mental universe he lives in, what he was raised believing I imagine, disqualifies him for president and vice president. The fact that he could joke about a gun pointed at Obama really tells a lot, maybe not about his soul but about his biography. This is a man who jokes about how he was savagely beaten by his father as a boy. All considering, he may be a fine human being. There are a lot of guys who would make great EMT workers who shouldn't be in politics, right?

[MsLiz]

04:45 PM on 06/08/2008

Does he know CPR? He'd be handy around McCain.

[AshleyMarie]

04:36 PM on 06/08/2008

Guess I was wrong.

Republicans can do something right...

[ImlayinMyRearViewMirror]

04:30 PM on 06/08/2008

The world is a better place because Mike Huckabee has lived, especially for one North Carolina man and his family.