Why Won’t Mike Huckabee Call it Quits?
Mike Huckabee realizes the numbers are against him.
Mitt Romney, who quit and endorsed McCain this week, won 286 delegates to Huckabee’s 217. Add Romney’s 286 to John McCain’s total, and it gives the Arizona senator a 899-delegate lead on Huckabee.
That and just 75 away from the GOP magic number.
So why stay in? For one, Mike Huckabee says you can’t assume Mitt Romney’s delegates will switch their allegiance to John McCain.
His other justification for staying in is that, well, he majored in miracles (we shudder to think what he minored in).
Some think that Mike Huckabee is trying to leverage his newfound clout with social conservatives to secure the Vice Presidential nomination.
We don’t see that happening, especially from McCain’s perspective.
More likely, the former Baptist preacher and Arkansas governor is just out for what he and most politicians crave - attention.
For the sake of his own future, whatever that entails, he’s probably concluded he’s better off in the race than he is out.
After somehow emerging as a top-tier candidate this year, Mike Huckabee could sell himself as the face of the party’s Christian evangelicals.
With that going for him, he might be able to bridge the gaps that have hurt him this winter, and prepare for a run in 2012 or 2016.
In any case, a lot of people would just as soon see him out of the race now, from former president George H.W. Bush, who also endorsed John McCain this week to… a member of the ’70s rock band Boston.
Tom Scholz, whose guitar forms Boston’s signature sound and who wrote “More Than a Feeling,” from the band’s hit 1976 album, asked Huckabee to drop the song from the playlist of the candidate’s band, Capitol Offense.
“Boston has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything Boston stands for,” said Scholz.
His candidate of choice? Barack Obama.
NATIONAL
February 16th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Why is Governor Huckabee still in this race? Where does he stand on issues? Go to this link from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It links you to the editorial board’s interview with Gov Huckabee. It will answer most all your questions. The link is through the associated press.
http://video.ap.org/v/Legacy.aspx?partner=en-ap&t=m1202927630347&ns=WIMIL_Gallery&p=mike_huckabee&f=WIMIL
February 16th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
The push to silence the American
I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. This presidential election is very exciting, also very distrubing. On the Republican side they have been trying to force out one of the two canidates way before the voter has voiced their oppinion. On the Democratic side it appears that after all the votes are tallied the decision about who will be the Demorcratic nominee will be up to something called superdelegates, and these super delegates can vote any way that choose regardless of the popular vote or delegate count!
Is this how elections are suppose to be ran? Isnt the American voter suppose to be the ones who decide these elections? Im going to talk about the Republican side for a moment. Here is the last two canidates basically. The Republican Rules state that neither canidate secures the nomination until 1191 degates are recieved for that delgate. Not one canidate has done this but yet the Republican Elite and the media have been saying that its over. That McCain despite losing Most of the Red states is the republican canidate. For weeks now we have heard the reteric that Mike Huckabee cannot win, and that McCain is going to be the nominee. Even when the race wasnt really that far apart the media along with the republican elite have been saying this.
So who is it exactly that chooses the nominee? Is it the people or the Party Elite. If you have been paying any attention to the primarys and caucuses its seems as though a power struggle is going on. A power struggle between what the voters want and what the Washington Republican Elite want. I am glad to see people standing up and voting how they want to vote. Not rolling over for the Party. I say dont roll over because your party says its over. You tell the party when its over! The party belongs to the people., not the Partys few Elite.
It seems that for so long now there has been minipulation of the voter through the media,big name endorsements, with loose facts and numbers being reported.. ie….. the old “its mathmatically impossible for a canadite to win.”
Its funny the rule states that a nominee will be secured when one canidate reaches 1191 delegates….. the rule doesnt state that once canidate has a good lead he is the nominee.
I am happy to see that voters are making decisions for them selves. I read a blog from a gentlemen from wisconsin that read ” why should the first 20 states get to vote and not my state?, dont i get a say?” I couldnt agree more. I hope the system changes soon. This system now is too vaulnerable to minipulation, and to out right fraud.
As far as the Republican Canidates go, If it is true that John McCain has it all locked up, then why are they so ferverant about Mike Huckabee quiting. Let the voting go on, let all the states have a chance to voice theyre oppinions. Could it be that the Republican Elite do not want to hear the opinion of some states exspecially if it contradicts there own plans and ideas. I hope voters see through this show. Is it really necessary for all the McCain endorsements if he already has it locked up? I mean why the big show? Why the memo from John McCains office stating Huckabee cant secure the delegates he needs for a win according to math? I know whats going on. Its a little scary if you ask me. Lets not forget about Washington State, after all its been two weeks and they still havnt finished counting 1500 votes? I could of counted 1500 votes in a half hour? Whats really going on.
My message to the voter is, go vote, ignore the media, ignore the polls, ignore the endorsements, go vote your issues and your values. Its not over untill youve had your chance to vote. This is America. We choose our canidates, and we choose when its over. REMIND WASHINGTON WHO THEY WORK FOR. THEY DONT DECIDE THE OUTCOME OF ELECTIONS THROUGH CLOSED DOOR MEETINGS. WE DECIDE THE ELECTION THROUGH THE HEART AND THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
That said, I am an independant, So I can speak a little more freely on these Matters. I have nothing but respect for MIke Huckabee. Hes standing up against the establishment and insisting that they obide by their own rules, and letting each voter have his chance to have his vote count. I will be voting for Huckabee when Im given the chance. The freedom to vote is something that is being underminded in this election. Keep em honest. Go Vote How you Want To, Not how your told!!!
February 16th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Mike Huckabee has shown over and over that the issue of the sanctity of human life is important to him. By staying in, he pressures McCain to move to the right. Why do these writers always refer to us as anti-abortion? That sounds so negative. We are seeking to promote the God given value due to each human life, no matter how weak or how small. They refer to the other side as pro-choice. That sounds so positive. We could use the same terminology for slavery. We could call those in favor of allowing slavery as “pro-choice”. Let the slave owners choose themselves as to whether they want to keep their slaves or not. What are we allowing them to choose? It is far worse to allow killing than to allow slavery. Both are bad. Do an internet search and see what Abraham Lincoln said in his proclaimation calling for a national day of prayer in 1863. Or maybe we could wait two days after a baby is born to declare it human, and then the pro-choice people could have longer to make their choice. Get real. God loves the babies in the wombs today just like he loved those in the twin towers that were killed. We must repent. Go Huckabee go! Thanks for taking a stand.
February 17th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
The news media has been trying to kill off Huckabee’s campaign for months. He wasn’t supposed to win the states he did. Pundits say you can’t win without boatloads of money, but Huckabee did. Polls before Virginia said McCain would walk away with a 3:1 win, but Huck almost won - and garnered great praise from McCain for being a formidable competitor!
There are still a thousand or so delegates left to be chosen. And all the delegates from candidates that have withdrawn are essentially free agents (including Romney’s), even if their intended candidate wants to endorse someone else. All Huckabee needs to do right now is keep McCain from securing the 1191 delegates, and we take it to the convention to decide.
And that’s the point. Rather than rush to coronate a flawed candidate, let’s let the people in the remaining states have their say.
Besides, what else is there to do? McCain may be missing vital votes on the Senate floor while he’s out campaigning, but Mike Huckabee is a writer, speaker and bass player in a band. He can continue to do those while on the road without compromising why he was elected to the office he already holds.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
The reason Mike is still running is the same reason he has so many supporters. He’d make a great president who is the true candidate of “hope,” and “change.” Mitt dropped out in my opinion not so much to “save the Party,” but to save himself from losing more money and to save himself from so much humiliation. Huck is a spectacular fighter not at all afraid of being humbled, someone you’d love to see in the Oval Office fighting for you. He also wants to save the unborn from pro-abort America, and just as importantly, save their mothers from the biggest mistake of their lives. Stop by our site Silent Souls for Huckabee, join and/or leave a comment if you’ve been pained by abortion and are supporting Huck in “hopes” of “change” on Roe v. Wade. Go, Huck, Go!
http://silentsoulsforhuckabee.com/speakout.html
If you want to read about Barack’s deadly abortion stance (along with his wife’s), google Donna Hope + Barack Obama and read the first entry.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Huckabee has nothing to lose. He is still in to show that he can amass more delegates than Mitt Romney. A lot of animosity there. Mitt: smart, rich, mormon, well-educated, wonderful family, good children. Huckabee is not in touch with reality and is pulling the front runner down. If he is chosen has a VP my vote to McCain will be gone.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
afisher, It’s not that Huckabee is not in touch with reality, but rather he operates on a different reality from the mainstream (jaded) media. Just a few short months ago, McCain’s candidacy was dead and folks were urging him out of the race. When he recovered and won his first state (South Carolina), the power barons flocked back to support the status quo candidate. Don’t write off Huckabee yet. There’s little practical difference between McCain & Clinton, so if Obama defeats Clinton, he’ll have the edge on McCain. But if both Huckabee and Obama succeed, we will see spirited debate about fresh ideas, without the negatives that most people say they dislike. For McCain to prevail in the General election, he’s got to begin to articulate fresh ideas.