CHRIS LIAKOS

'Dark horse' Huckabee a viable choice

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Posted: 11/29/07

With his recent endorsement by Chuck Norris, Mike Huckabee is shaking up the presidential primaries. Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich praised Huckabee's eloquence in the debates.

Former President Bill Clinton said Huckabee is the only "dark horse candidate" who stands a chance at winning the GOP primary.

As a political science major, I am taking a course entitled Campaign Politics. For the course, we were assigned to follow a candidate over the duration of the semester.

At first, Fred Thompson looked appealing. The media was buzzing about Thompson throwing his hat in the race. Following the enormous drum roll and buildup to his announcement ... nothing. Crickets chirped in the wake of Thompson's floundering campaign.

I quickly asked my professor if I could change candidates. She said yes, and I have been following Huckabee since.

Huckabee is a former governor of Arkansas. Indeed, he hails from the same small town as Bill Clinton: Hope, Ark. One of his campaign slogans is "Give Hope another chance." A former Baptist pastor, Huckabee is a favorite among social conservatives. His active support for the FairTax adds to his appeal among political and economic conservatives.

According to his Web site, he cut taxes more than 90 times during his tenure as governor. He has been criticized for certain tax raises, though.

I believe his support of the FairTax, a national sales tax that removes all other Federal taxes and abolishes the IRS, nullifies those concerns. When he left office early this year, Arkansas had $800 million in state surplus, money which he believes should go back to the people in the form of a tax break.

A big issue confronting voters in 2008 is health care reform, especially with rising costs of health insurance and pharmaceuticals. Huckabee has pounced on this issue, especially in light of Hillary Clinton's call for government-run health care (i.e. socialized medicine).

Huckabee focuses on disease prevention, and says that individuals should retain control of their health care. He adamantly is opposed to government controlled medicine.

Huckabee's only campaign problem is somewhat outside his control: his campaign runs on a very tight budget. He simply doesn't have enough donations to compete on the national scene.

The media has jumped on the supposed "frontrunners." Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Fred Thompson are media favorites. Thus, they also have received millions each in donations. No problem for Huckabee, though.

In several Iowa polls, Huckabee has ranked second place, an impressive feat for a candidate with little money. Huckabee has raised about $3 million for his entire national campaign.

Huckabee doesn't even need to win in Iowa or New Hampshire, the two historically first battleground states. He simply needs to place well. His campaign is garnering more attention every day, and his support is growing too. He stands a fighting chance for a place on the Republican ticket next year.

Most people in the 18-24 age group don't care much about politics.

Even fewer actually make it to the polls. I believe that the 2008 election is going to be one of the most important in modern times.

With the impending Social Security and health care crises, and the future of the war in Iraq at stake, I encourage all of you to learn about the issues. Register to vote, and when you go to the Georgia primary, remember: Mike Huckabee is Chuck Norris-approved.

- Chris Liakos is a senior from Lawrenceville majoring in political science and economics, and is a team leaders' director for the College Republicans.