Mike Huckabee's inner thoughts, pre-race

The country will again see the increasingly familiar face of former Arkansas governor and former nobody Mike Huckabee on the Sunday morning talk shows today. He's hot because he won the Republican Iowa caucus last week. He'll be in another debate, the last before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, later today on Fox News. And he and the four other invited GOP candidates -- Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson -- will, of course, discuss a variety of issues with Chris Wallace. (Fox decided to exclude Reps. Ron Paul of Texas, who beat Giuliani in Iowa and leads Thompson in New Hampshire polls, and Duncan Hunter of Alpine.)

But The Times' Joe Mathews recently came across an interesting and revealing passage in one of Huckabee's books, "Character Makes a Difference," published last June before anyone took seriously the latest improbable presidential run by an Arkansas governor from the town of Hope. Here it is:

"I hear one comment a lot these days: 'Now that you've been governor, I guess you want to be the next guy from Arkansas to go to the White House.' If I really wanted to move up to the next level, I'd have plenty of company. There are 135 people in the Arkansas state legislature who think they could be governor. There are probably 50 governors who think they could be president; there are 100 senators and 435 members of the House who think the same things. Wherever you are, there's a temptation to want to jump to the next level.

I have come to realize that my next position might be at quite a different level. It may be running a soup kitchen somewhere. I'd rather be doing something I know I'm supposed to do than something everybody tells me is right. If you're the governor of a state, there aren't many jobs you can take in that state that people will think are more important.

The great, liberating comfort for me and other believers is that God, not man, is in control, and He knows what is best for me. I am not to be so ambitious that I start thinking I know better than God what's best for me. That's not to say ambition is bad; everybody should have some ambition and strive to do his best. But I could run a marina and tackle shop at Lake Greeson near Murfreesboro and be quite content."

Not the usual writing fare of careful candidates-to-be. Food for thought. Thanks for that, Joe.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Tina]

I like this guy. Sounds believable. Sounds like someone we can trust to make decisions based on right and wrong - not his political future.

[Ronald W. Sprague]

Thank you Joe for your enlightning article, you re-inforced my belief in Governor Huckabee's autenticity, the real thing. It would be refreshing to finally have someone as our leader who would finally let us know what is really happening with his wonderful communication skills, I feel that he is the only one that is talking with us and not to us.

[Chris Taylor]

Another reason to heart Mike. He didn't write books to bolster his future ambitions in politics, he simply put down honest thoughts in his book and apparently God led him to go to the next level instead of being content going fishing for the rest of his career. Good on him! Go Huck!

[Scott Somerville]

I'm glad Huckabee is in the race. I didn't take him seriously as a candidate until a month or two ago. I was pretty glum about the Republicans' chances of fielding anybody who could win Ohio and Pennsylvania. I don't know whether Huckabee can get the GOP nomination, but if he does, I think he can appeal to the upper midwest in a way that no other current Republican could. Assuming Huckabee can carry the South, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, I think he might win.

[Dan Campbell]

I endorse Mike Huckabee because:

Our country was founded by men who believed in God, and were not afraid to practice their religion. By believing, it doesn't make Mike Huckabee a bad leader, it makes him a better one. This quote says a lot when you take a moment to think about where we came from:

"George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, first chief justice John Jay. Names synonymous with the spirit of our country. Founding fathers of the U.S.A. Over 200 years ago they shook of the chains of tyranny from Great Britain, by divine call. Citing 27 biblical violations they wrote the Declaration of Independence, with Liberty and justice for all. But something happened since Jefferson called the bible the cornerstone for American Liberty, then put it in our schools as a light. Or since give me liberty or give me death, Patrick Henry said our country was founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We eliminated God from the equation of American life, thus eliminating the reason this Nation first began. From beyond the grave I can hear the voices of our founding fathers plead, you need God in America again. Of the 55 men who formed the constitution, 52 were active members of their church. Founding fathers like Noah Webster who wrote the first dictionary, could literally quote the bible chapter and verse. James Madison said we've staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all our heart. These men believed you couldn't even call yourself an American, if you subvert the word of God. In his farewell address, Washington said you can't have National morality apart from religious principal, and it's true." (Carmen)

I support Mike Huckabee because of what he stands for. He is intelligent, charming, funny, professional, inspiring and a really great guy.

Dan Campbell
Sgt., USMC