Opinion: Mike Huckabee handicaps the veep sweeps
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Mike Huckabee says that while he’d love to be asked -- and would accept -- he doubts John McCain will pick him for his running mate. And on the other side, he figures Barack Obama isn’t likely to ask Hillary Clinton, either.
Huckabee gave his predictions to Reuters during a trip to Japan (the video is below), and it could be he’s just warming up, spring training-style, for his new gig as a political commentator for Fox News. But a voice from the trenches is always worth a listen.
On McCain, Huckabee sounded like a true loyal party figure. ‘I want him to define how he’s going to win, and I want to help him win,’ Huckabee said. ‘That may not involve me [as a running mate]. And I’m not sure that I’m the right fit for him. That’s something only he can know.’
Huckabee, you’ll recall, was the last speed bump McCain hit on his way to sealing the Republican nomination-- well, except for Ron Paul. And Huckabee was the favorite, for a time, of the party’s once-powerful social-conservative wing, despite some misgivings over his tax-and-spending policies as governor of Arkansas.
So why doesn’t Huckabee think Obama will pick Clinton? ‘There’s some real tension, not just between the two principals, but between their inner circles and down in the ranks of their supporters that would be very hard to overcome in a short period of time,’ Huckabee said. ‘People who voted for Hillary will end up voting for Obama generally, but I’m not sure that they’re ready to just have the wedding and, you know, cut the cake.’
-- Scott Martelle
