Now that the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has withdrawn from the Republican presidential race, let’s assess what the signficance of the campaign was.
While he did well, he ultimately could not prevail against McCain even with Romney out of the race.
Was the presidency or even the vice-presidency really the goal?
I think not, although if things had turned out better for him then the opportunity would be seized.
In my regrettably unprovable view, Huckabee was running to become Pat Robertson as the most influential evangelical on the political scene. Falwell is dead, Robertson and Ralph Reed have become compromised by some of their political choices. The way would be clear for Huckabee to assume Robertson’s mantle.
Don’t be suprised if a year from now, Huckabee takes his mailing list and creates a political action committee, a tax-exempt foundation and syndicates a radio and/or tv show, perhaps taking it to the Internet entirely. Those are my predictions. He may well be better off not accepting a vice-presidential nomination from the Republicans gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota this September.
Mike Huckabee can’t become king, but he can become kingmaker for a generation. -30-
For a previous look at Huckabee see https://www.groundreport.com/Politics/Huckabee-Hawks-Smoking-Ban-Nanny-state-Hucksterism
(About the author: Richard Cooper was a Ron Paul delegate candidate in the Super Tuesday New York primary. He won’t be going to St. Paul).
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