Mike Huckabee's Humility Makes him Likeable

Check out this terrific article in the Concord Monitor.

• Voters should get to know Huckabee
  Candidate connects easily with people


• There was plenty to admire about Mike Huckabee's appearance at Concord High on Friday. He talked with the students, not at them or down to them. Many of them disagreed with him on abortion rights, but they had to respect the way he explained his pro-life views. And in both body language and actual language he displayed a humility that would be a rare quality - and an asset - in a president.


• Huckabee is just the kind of candidate for whom the New Hampshire primary purports to exist. He's a little-known governor with a small bankroll. His only hope is to sell himself directly to the public.
  To run this kind of personal campaign, a candidate must come across as genuine, smart and experienced. Check, check and check. Huckabee, 52, is comfortable with himself and well-versed in the issues. For 11 years he was Arkansas's governor, a job in which, as he explained to the students, he often had to pursue or sell policies that he knew were unpopular.


• So far, Huckabee is best known as a bass guitarist, a guy who lost more than 100 pounds and a comedian. These are positives. He's humble about his musical skills, but even in a dark suit, white shirt and pink tie, he looks natural with a guitar strapped over his shoulder. He has translated his belief in music and the arts into appealing public policy. His weight loss makes him a role model and gives him a platform for talking about health as a public issue. The humor is a bonus; he and John McCain are in a league of their own in the 2008 presidential field.


• Religion could also be a problem for Huckabee.

I disagree, I think religion is a positive for him.

• He told us that in dealing with members of his congregation, he had experienced and confronted every kind of human misery. He counseled parents who had lost young children, married couples on the verge of divorce, people in debt, people struggling with alcohol and drug problems. The forlorn, the sinners and the sinned-against are a pastor's province.
  Huckabee had taken from this experience a profound understanding of human nature. He projects this quality when he speaks in public. While explaining his own views clearly and unapologetically, he also considers his listeners' interests and tries to address them.


• But New Hampshire isn't the Bible Belt. Voters in this live-and-let-live state tend to be suspicious of those who mix religion and politics, such as the Republican pastor-politician Pat Robertson.

OK, from this point I guess I can understand that about new Hampshire. But Mike Huckabee is different.

Check this out what the reporter has to say about his conclusion of Mike Huckabee.

• In case you were wondering, I should acknowledge here that I am not in that camp. There are many issues on which I disagree profoundly with Huckabee. Despite those differences, I find him intriguing and wonder why his party, with its big southern base, pays him so little heed.
  One of his well-heeled rivals may emerge as a stronger candidate than any appear to be now. Then again, maybe not. While New Hampshire Republicans wait and see, they owe it to themselves - and to the state's primary tradition - to lend Huckabee an ear.
  He may make you chuckle, but he'll also surprise you with his depth and his manner.

Read the full article here.