|
|
| |
| Thu, Nov. 20, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Huckabee's fund-raising and private-sector successes Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008 By David Sanders It's no surprise the state Republican Party had a tough time raising money under the guise of a "welcome back" party for Mike Huckabee. It's not as if the former governor, former presidential candidate and wannabe cable news/comedy host hasn't been back to the state. Many of those who would have given money to see Huckabee out of obligation were tapped out. Most had shelled out big bucks a month or so ago to see President Bush, and did the same thing a few weeks later to buy a handshake with John McCain. That said, it's not a given, sans Bush and McCain, that a contrived homecoming for Huckabee would have made money. Republicans, even some of the most vaunted Huckabee backers, are tiring of the former governor. One can only laugh at the same jokes so many times. Huckabee's rhetoric isn't new even though it has taken on a decidedly national flair. And, as one loyal GOP contributor put it to me: "You really have to ask yourself what we got out of the deal." He wasn't, of course, referring to the fun-filled evening with the former governor's band, but to the past 10 or so years. Perhaps he had a point. A couple of weeks ago, Kane Webb, the columnist and feature writer for the statewide daily, chatted with Huckabee about his new fast-paced life. Things have been going well; in fact, Huckabee likes to point out that he is the only Republican presidential candidate who came out of the experience better than he entered it. No surprise there. I'd say things have gone according to plan. Many of us suspected all along (me all the way back in January of 2004) that he would run for president not to occupy the Oval Office, but to pad the speaking fees, score more book contracts for the ghost writers and perhaps land some cable television gig. There were exchanges in Webb's piece that were entirely, yet not surprisingly, revealing: When asked if he'd consider a position in a would-be McCain administration, he said, "No, no way?" Why would he want to do that? He is doing so well in the private sector. Asked why he would not consider a spot in a McCain administration, Huckabee said it would mean "barely surviving" (financially) in an "obscure Cabinet post and have some 20-year-old from the White House telling me what I'm gonna do?" Note to Huckabee: You just spent a year extolling the virtues of having good people in government. But now you either revealed what you think about the job of a Cabinet secretary or how you would run an administration, which might be good for 20-year olds who would work in your White House, but not for the country. When the conversation turned to the Clintons, Huckabee launched into an introspective temper tantrum veiled as a lament for Hillary and about how sad it was that so many Clintonites who'd worked for her husband had turned on her. "Some ... may have felt they were burned ... but you know what, look, you left that administration and went out in the private sector and made more money than you ever thought you'd make and the only reason you were marketable in that way is because of Bill Clinton. He may have treated you poorly in the political world. But his brand on you is what made you marketable in that way. And the least you could do is just keep your mouth shut and stay out of it," Huckabee said. Some might argue that Clinton (and Huckabee) did well because he surrounded himself with the best people (several people who worked for both men come to mind), many of whom could have done a lot better had they remained in the private sector instead of putting their lives on hold and choosing public service. That's clearly not the way Huckabee thinks. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
