Late Returns: WTF-abee? Huck's Heart Won't Say No To The Veep Slot
Seems like only a few weeks ago former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was jamming out with Ted Nugent on the teevee and telling his fans that he had decided not to run for president of these United States despite the fact that he was, in many polls, considered to be one of the frontrunners.
"All the factors say go," said Huck, "but my heart says no."
Well, apparently, Huckabee has been having high-level discussions with other internal organs because today he's telling the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he is still leaving the door open to being vice president.
Huckabee, who was considered a frontrunner in some circles before announcing last month on his Fox News television show that he would not seek the nomination, spoke in Little Rock as part of the Clinton School of Public Service lecture series."Everything is still open," Huckabee said when asked afterward about being the potential Republican candidate's running mate. "I haven't closed doors because I found out long ago that that's not a smart thing to do. Then you try to figure out how to open them when they come knocking. I'm not looking for anything, I'm content with what I'm doing. That's what I plan to do."
Huckabee acknowledged, however, that "whoever becomes the Republican challenger to President Barack Obama has a long road ahead of them." It's worth pointing out, however, that his opinion on how difficult this task is varies from one day to the next.
I would imagine that Huckabee's open-door policy to be vice-president won't extend to Mitt Romney, since he hates Romney's guts.
Every four years, people opine that early states like Iowa and New Hampshire have disproportionate power in determining who eventually becomes the major parties' nominees. But if we changed the system, what would become of those quadrennial news stories about how people opine that early states like Iowa and New Hampshire have disproportionate power in determining who eventually becomes the major parties' nominees? [New York Times]
Which home-state candidate do Minnesotans want to see run for President, Michele Bachmann or Tim Pawlenty? The answer may surprise you, so long as you'd be surprised to learn the answer is "neither." [Public Policy Polling]
But there's new evidence that Bachmann plans to jump into the race, unless Bachmann Chief of Staff Andy Parrish is referring to something much, much kinkier when he says he's about to take an "exciting new position" with the Minnesota representative. [Daily Caller]
For those of you who see macro-economic fundamentals as the primary factor in President Barack Obama's re-election hopes: "Manufacturing is cooling, the housing market is struggling and consumers are keeping a close eye on spending, meaning the U.S. economy might be on a slower path to full health than expected." [Wall Street Journal]
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First Posted: 06/01/11 06:11 PM ET Updated: 08/01/11 06:12 AM ET