mike huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Growing up in Hope
Born in Hope, Arkansas, his father worked as a fireman and mechanic and his
mother worked as a clerk in a gas company. He has one sister who is a middle
school teacher. Huckabee's first job, at 14, was working at a radio station where
he would read the news and weather. In High School, he was elected Governor
of Arkansas Boys State in 1972 and was elected president of his class at Hope High
School in 1973. He married his wife Janet McCain in 1974 and they have 3 grown
children.
Education
He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University, with a degree in Religion. He
later attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas,
where he dropped out after one year.
Early Career
At 23, Huckabee was a staffer for James Robison, a television evangelist
Huckabee has stated, "when people say, 'We ought to separate politics from
religion,' I say to separate the two is absolutely impossible".
Prior to his political career, Huckabee was pastor of several Southern Baptist
churches. He encouraged the all-white Immanuel Baptist Church to accept black
members in the mid 1980's. He served as president of a religion-oriented television
station.
The Making of a Candidate
Dick Morris, who had previously worked for Bill Clinton, was a friend of Huckabee’
s and advised him on his senatorial campaign. Morris said the mistake Republicans
always make is that they are too much of a country club set. What we wanted to
do was run a progressive campaign that would appeal to all Arkansans. So we
opened the campaign with ads that characterized Mike as more of a moderate
whose values were the same as those of other Arkansans."
Revolving door in the Governor’s office
He lost his first political race for U.S. Senator. However, in that same election,
then Governor Bill Clinton ascended to the Presidency, making Lieutenant
Governor Jim Tucker the new Governor. A special election was held in which
Huckabee became the new lieutenant governor. While he was Lieutenant
Governor, Huckabee again ran for U.S. Senate and won the Republican
nomination. In the same time frame, Governor Tucker announced that he would
resign to appeal his conviction in the Whitewater scandal. As a result, Huckabee
then withdrew from the Senatorial race to take over as Governor. Prior to
swearing in, Tucker rescinded his resignation but backed down when Huckabee
threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Out of a fat suit and into a Triple Wide
When he became governor, Huckabee was significantly overweight. Physicians
diagnosed him with diabetes and told him he would not live more than ten years if
he did not lose weight. He began dieting and exercising and subsequently lost over
110 pounds. The New York Times called the weight loss so rapid that "it was as if
he simply unzipped a fat suit and stepped out."
While in office, the Governor’s Mansion was being renovated and Huckabee moved
his family into a mobile home, which became the topic of jokes. "It's not a trailer.
It's a triple wide," Huckabee said.
Rock & Roll and Born to Run
Huckabee's rock band, Capitol Offense, has played for political events and parties,
including entertaining at unofficial inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., as well as
the 2004 GOP Convention. Huckabee has run in several marathons: the 2005
Marine Corps Marathon, the Little Rock Marathon and the New York City
Marathon.
Painting word pictures
Huckabee has drawn criticism over the years for public statements such as,
comparing his weight loss to the experience of a concentration camp, for which he
was chastised by the National Jewish Democratic Council; his use of suicide as a
joke about fundraising efforts; and when discussing Mitt Romney’s religion asking:
"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" Recently, after
the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he said that
Pakistan has more illegal immigrants to the United States than any country but
Mexico.
Huckabee has publicly apologized, stating that, “One of the things that gets me in
trouble is my love of metaphors. I use hyperbole in the course of trying to paint a
word picture. I pay a dear price for it."
But his frank and charming style, along with his formidable public speaking skills
have propelled him to become a front-runner for the Republican Nomination.
Growing up in Hope
Born in Hope, Arkansas, his father worked as a fireman and mechanic and his
mother worked as a clerk in a gas company. He has one sister who is a middle
school teacher. Huckabee's first job, at 14, was working at a radio station where
he would read the news and weather. In High School, he was elected Governor
of Arkansas Boys State in 1972 and was elected president of his class at Hope High
School in 1973. He married his wife Janet McCain in 1974 and they have 3 grown
children.
Education
He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University, with a degree in Religion. He
later attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas,
where he dropped out after one year.
Early Career
At 23, Huckabee was a staffer for James Robison, a television evangelist
Huckabee has stated, "when people say, 'We ought to separate politics from
religion,' I say to separate the two is absolutely impossible".
Prior to his political career, Huckabee was pastor of several Southern Baptist
churches. He encouraged the all-white Immanuel Baptist Church to accept black
members in the mid 1980's. He served as president of a religion-oriented television
station.
The Making of a Candidate
Dick Morris, who had previously worked for Bill Clinton, was a friend of Huckabee’
s and advised him on his senatorial campaign. Morris said the mistake Republicans
always make is that they are too much of a country club set. What we wanted to
do was run a progressive campaign that would appeal to all Arkansans. So we
opened the campaign with ads that characterized Mike as more of a moderate
whose values were the same as those of other Arkansans."
Revolving door in the Governor’s office
He lost his first political race for U.S. Senator. However, in that same election,
then Governor Bill Clinton ascended to the Presidency, making Lieutenant
Governor Jim Tucker the new Governor. A special election was held in which
Huckabee became the new lieutenant governor. While he was Lieutenant
Governor, Huckabee again ran for U.S. Senate and won the Republican
nomination. In the same time frame, Governor Tucker announced that he would
resign to appeal his conviction in the Whitewater scandal. As a result, Huckabee
then withdrew from the Senatorial race to take over as Governor. Prior to
swearing in, Tucker rescinded his resignation but backed down when Huckabee
threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Out of a fat suit and into a Triple Wide
When he became governor, Huckabee was significantly overweight. Physicians
diagnosed him with diabetes and told him he would not live more than ten years if
he did not lose weight. He began dieting and exercising and subsequently lost over
110 pounds. The New York Times called the weight loss so rapid that "it was as if
he simply unzipped a fat suit and stepped out."
While in office, the Governor’s Mansion was being renovated and Huckabee moved
his family into a mobile home, which became the topic of jokes. "It's not a trailer.
It's a triple wide," Huckabee said.
Rock & Roll and Born to Run
Huckabee's rock band, Capitol Offense, has played for political events and parties,
including entertaining at unofficial inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., as well as
the 2004 GOP Convention. Huckabee has run in several marathons: the 2005
Marine Corps Marathon, the Little Rock Marathon and the New York City
Marathon.
Painting word pictures
Huckabee has drawn criticism over the years for public statements such as,
comparing his weight loss to the experience of a concentration camp, for which he
was chastised by the National Jewish Democratic Council; his use of suicide as a
joke about fundraising efforts; and when discussing Mitt Romney’s religion asking:
"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" Recently, after
the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he said that
Pakistan has more illegal immigrants to the United States than any country but
Mexico.
Huckabee has publicly apologized, stating that, “One of the things that gets me in
trouble is my love of metaphors. I use hyperbole in the course of trying to paint a
word picture. I pay a dear price for it."
But his frank and charming style, along with his formidable public speaking skills
have propelled him to become a front-runner for the Republican Nomination.
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