I wonder how many Republicans were busily drawing up “I Heart Huckabee” posters, inking “I Heart Huckabee” shirts and amassing “I Heart Huckabee” pins while watching Fox News Saturday night only to hear what couldn’t be, what was certainly just their ears deceiving them, maybe pausing their DVRs and rewinding just to be sure.
But there it was — Mike Huckabee announcing he wouldn’t be running for president. Claiming that while “all the factors say go, but my heart says no,” Huckabee said ultimately it was a “spiritual” decision, not a financial or political one. @@http://www.mikehuckabee.com/@@
It is becoming more clear every day that “change” won’t be a theme in the coming election.
While some may say Huckabee’s departure will open the door for other GOP hopefuls, the truth of the matter is that Huckabee was a well-known politician with a strong base who was already leading in numerous polls. His decision to bow out of the race removes at the very least a third (and more likely a full half) of the pool of legitimate GOP presidential candidates, leaving Mitt Romney and maybe Tim Pawlenty as the sole remaining challengers to President Barack Obama. @@www.mittromney.com@@ @@www.timpawlenty.com@@
Donald Trump declared he would not be running. Sarah Palin might as well declare it too. Newt Gingrich — you sleaze, you — it’s not happening. Stop wasting the media’s time, the American people’s time and your own money. For what it’s worth, drop out now to stop dragging the rest of the GOP down with you. @@Newt Gingrich: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20063759-503544.html@@
Any of these individuals, when associated with the Republican Party, are a negative for whoever ultimately becomes the Republican nominee. To begin with, they antagonize independent voters. Furthermore, every day they remain in the spotlight means less time for that light to be shown on — let’s be realistic — Mitt Romney. If Republicans truthfully believe Obama is the worst president ever, they should realize they need to start highlighting the candidate(s) that have a legitimate chance of upsetting him. Challengers to an incumbent president need as much airtime and exposure as they can get. If the Republicans find a way to somehow screw themselves and select one of the aforementioned individuals to be the GOP nominee, they will be outwitted and outmaneuvered and will ultimately lose to Obama.
Huckabee’s decision not to run is mildly curious. His early poll numbers have been encouraging, often showing him as leader of all GOP presidential hopefuls. His socially conservative values have a large following, receiving publicity boosts from his television presence.
So what happened?
Democrats would say that Obama looks — and is — unbeatable. Republicans would echo what Huckabee himself said. I think the real truth, as it so often is, is somewhere right in the middle.
Obama is not unbeatable in 2012. Not by a long shot. The still sluggish economy and job growth are both going to be major issues in the election, and while there is some time for improvements, that time is rapidly narrowing. The economy is going to be a major chink in Obama’s armor. The killing of Osama bin Laden might pad his numbers a little, but not enough if the economy doesn’t show some positive improvement by election time.
Given the fact that Obama is beatable, Huckabee’s decision not to run is a much tougher pill to swallow for Republicans. He was one of two candidates who would have had the best shot at the presidency. It also makes Huckabee’s claims as to why he chose not to run seem more complicated than he proposes. When you’re leading in numerous polls for a chance to become president of the United States, you typically don’t walk away.
One of the reasons has to be money — not just in terms of competing against the formidable fundraising apparatus Obama will wield, but also personal wealth. Huckabee, a former pastor, has, since his arrival on the scene in 2008, developed a television presence and become an author and a highly sought-after speaker. By choosing to run for president, he would have to walk away from all of that, which must have had some influence on his decision.
Republicans have two options: They can sit around waiting for a young, fresh-faced individual to arrive on the scene, instantly garnering waves of public support, offering new ideas on how to fix the economy (as opposed to simply slashing taxes for the wealthy) and hopefully giving Obama all he can handle, or they can unite and begin throwing all of their support behind Romney. The clear issue with the first option is that such an individual, if he or she exists, has yet to emerge from the woodwork.
“I Heart Romney” might not have the cultural appeal, but if Republicans want to win, they should get out the Sharpies and start doing a little bit of editing.