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'Unique' Janet Huckabee hits campaign trail Friday, Nov 9, 2007 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - She's jumped out of an airplane, fired a grenade launcher and endured forces nine times stronger than gravity while strapped into an Air Force F-16. She's a turkey hunter, a former political candidate and one-time resident of the most famous triple-wide trailer in Arkansas. Now she's ready for what she called one of "the most exciting possibilities," yet - America's first lady. And Janet Huckabee said Thursday she believes America is ready for her, too. "I'm very unique in the sense that I'm not afraid to show all sides: The fun side, the serious side, the elegant side, whatever I need to do," she said. "I'm not afraid to do that. I think people will see that I'm going to be myself, and I think that will be OK." The former Arkansas first lady began Thursday what could be six months of campaigning for her husband, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Janet Huckabee took a leave of absence from her job with the American Red Cross to join the campaign, where she will make solo appearances as well as join her husband on the trail. Her first stop was in Washington for a Republican women's luncheon at GOP national headquarters. As if to underscore her standing as an unconventional political spouse, Huckabee moved out from behind a lectern and paced in front of the crowd of about 150 women. She cracked jokes about her kids and her husband and drew a few groans when she made a comment about constructing a "Habitat for Humanity" home on the front lawn of the White House. She and her husband drew headlines in 2000 when they lived in a triple-wide mobile home in the back yard of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion while the residence was being repaired. Mrs. Huckabee stayed in the news for her interest in military issues, hunting and for her unsuccessful 2002 bid for Arkansas secretary of state. She said she would let her husband handle the policy side of the campaign. Her job is to support him and to be herself, she added. "Like it or not, if they elect Mike, they get me," she said. "Americans are definitely for some freshness. I'm not saying anything negative about any of our first ladies ... I can look at all the other first ladies and I can use them perhaps as role models in certain situations, but I can't put myself in their shoes because I'm Janet Huckabee, I'm not another person. I can't be the same as they are." Janet Huckabee, a board member of Habitat for Humanity International, said she would continue work with that organization if her husband is elected. Other priority issues for her are an anti-drinking program aimed toward children and teenagers and emergency preparedness. Mike Huckabee is slowly building steam in his presidential bid. He registers in second place in Iowa, site of the nation's first presidential caucus Jan. 3. But he's been beset by fundraising problems and lacks key endorsements from evangelical leaders. Both husband and wife have been out front about the role of their faith. Mike Huckabee is a Southern Baptist minister. Janet Huckabee on Thursday said her faith, too, defines her. Otherwise, "there's times you just want to wring somebody's neck and only by the grace of God we don't," she said to laughs. Family is also a strength, said the mother of three grown children, all who are working in some role for the Huckabee campaign. Extended family has also loaned help when needed, she said. "It's exciting to see your children doing things of this magnitude," Mrs. Huckabee said. "Folks, this is the big leagues. We're not running for school board now." With other topics, she was just as blunt. Bill Clinton? "He's a very personable person, he's very likable," she said, before someone in the audience of GOP faithful cautioned her to stop with the accolades for the Democrat. "OK. Period." Her husband? "I think he's a man of his word. I've tested that a few times." Their marriage? "He had every opportunity to say, 'You're just way more than I bargained for,'" when she contracted spinal cancer at age 20. Her oldest son, John Mark? "You tune in a radio and every now and then you'll hit a frequency and think, 'Man, I wish I could get that' and you don't quite get it, but every now and then you get it? Well, John Mark is kind of like that." Janet Huckabee's road show continues next week in South Carolina, site of the first primary in the South. She and former Arkansas First Lady Gay White, along with two former South Carolina first ladies, will go on a bus tour across the state. She said she also plans a campaign stop in Arizona and may spend time at Huckabee's Little Rock headquarters. |
