Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee made it official last night. In live remarks at the end of his Fox show, Huckabee announced that he would not be a candidate for president in 2012:
"The past few months have been times of deep personal reflection," Huckabee said. "Even though I wasn't actively establishing a campaign organization or seeking financial support to run again, polls have consistently put me at or near the top to be the Republican nominee.""But I know that under the best of circumstances, being President is a job that takes one to the limit of his or her human capacity," he continued. "I can't know or predict the future, but I know for now my answer is clear and firm: I will not seek the Republican nomination for President this year."
Huckabee said others probably thought about a presidential bid more than he did.
"I had not done much toward a race because my life was filled with work that I truly love here at Fox News, doing radio commentaries on my daily Huckabee Report on 600 radio stations, traveling the country for speaking engagements, and helping good conservative, pro-life candidates who were running for office," he said.
Huck has made a good life for himself after his strong run in 2008. And he has always used other criteria than being president as a personal yardstick for success. He is a good and decent man and probably did not looking forward to the kind of microscopic scrutiny of the press and opponents that a presidential race would bring. Finally, as a politician, he no doubt sized up the odds and figured his was a longshot to begin with.
Who benefits from Huckabee's decision not to run? Not Donald Trump, who had this to say about his announcement:
Donald Trump delivered a message after Huckabee's decision to opt out.
"A lot of people are very happy that he will not be running, especially other candidates, so Mike enjoy the show," Trump said. "The ratings are terrific. Good luck."
One potential beneficiary of Huckabee's decision is former Senator Rick Santorum. If the evangelical vote is going to matter and if social issues are not to get lost in the shuffle of a national campaign, the religious right would have to unite to back a single candidate. It now seems entirely possible that Santorum's longshot campaign just got a big boost as he would seen the natural alternative to Huckabee.
Another candidate who might benefit from Huckabee's choice is Herman Cain. The buzz around Cain's candidacy is growing by the week and having a strong candidate like Huckabee opting out of the race might focus more attention on one of the biggest crowd pleasers in the Republican field.
Huckabee's presence will be missed in the debates, if only for his good humor and passionate defense of social issues. His will be a strong voice in the Republican party for many years, regardless whether he runs for office again or not.
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