Bill Vickery on the Sunday morning buzz on 103.7 FM, today said that Mike Huckabee spent the majority of his time in his statement telling why his family and most of the world wanted him to run for president.
Next Huckabee said he was not going to run.
Also Huckabee spent a lot of timing bashing political pundits whenHuckabee himself is employed to talk on TV about politics.
Vickery later said, “Huckabee is a business commodity that can not be denied. I think he should take over Glenn Beck’s time slot. ”
Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times Blog noted:
For your morning entertainment, the clip of Mike Huckabee saying he wouldn’t run for president. (I still say a possibility remains) is available at realclearpolitics.com. It’s a classic me-me-me Huckabee oration, full of straw men and divine guidance. In the end, he opted for prosperity and security and there’s not a thing wrong with that. Why not just say itand move on?
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One thing that Brantley is fond of doing is calling Huckabee a “tax fugitive” since he moved to Florida. The funny thing to me is, liberals like Dale Bumpers raised the state income tax so high that it drives away wealthy people many times. Yet after raising the taxes so high, liberals want to ridicule those that move to low tax states. Why not lower the income tax here so we can retain these very productive people. (We have a higher state income tax then any of the states that border us and TN and TX don’t have any income tax) I guess liberals will never think of something like that.
Jason Tolbert reported yesterday Huckabee decided not to run. Here is some commentary from Tolbert:
The final act of the Huckabee Presidential tease is finally over and it ended with Huckabee saying he “will not seek the Republican nomination for President this year.” He teased it for couple days in order to get everyone to watch his show tonight. His supporters got their hopes up that he would announce and he played along then let them down.
That was mean. I am glad he is not running but feel bad for a lot of his supporters that are figuring out tonight what I figured out a little over a year ago – It is all about the money not the principles.
Statement from Mike Huckabee…
The pundits and members of the political class who have spoken with certainty about my decision to run or not for President in 2012 are amusing if not amazing to think that they knew what even I didn’t know until late this week. The past few months have been times of deep personal reflection. 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. When possible candidates were discussed in the media and despite polls that showed me in the lead, my name would often go unmentioned while a candidate barely registering single digits was touted as a “front-runner.” I found comfort that the nomination would not be made by commentators, columnists, or consultants, but by the rank and file voters in the Republican primary, and their support is strong and has been growing.
Concerns that I had about raising the necessary funds to be competitive or being able to win in states outside the South were answered when signs of strong financial support materialized and when polls showed me winning in states like Pennsylvania, Maine, and even New Jersey. That kind of shattered the notion that I was only a regional candidate or only supported by social conservatives.
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. Other people probably thought about it more than I did.
I don’t have an issue with my family being supportive. My wife actually encouraged me to do it, despite knowing full well it would subject her and the rest of the family to brutal and savage personal attacks. My adult children have also made it clear they would be with me no matter what.
When people asked me what it would take for me to run, I would tell them the same thing—pray for me to have clarity in the decision. I don’t expect everyone to understand this, but I’m a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. That relationship is far more important to me than any political office. For me, the decision is ultimately not a political one, a financial one, or even a practical one —it’s a spiritual one.
The past few weeks, the external signs and signals and answers to many of the obstacles point strongly toward running. When I am with people encouraging me to run, it’s easy to feel the strength of their partnership and commitment to help me to the finish line. Only when I was alone, in quiet and reflective moments did I have not only clarity, but an inexplicable inner peace—a peace that exceeds human understanding. All the factors say GO, but my heart says NO. And that is the decision I have made and in it have finally found resolution. I don’t fully understand it myself—but I’m sure the pundits will. 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. For me, to do it apart from an inner confidence that I was undertaking it with God’s full blessing is unthinkable. 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. I will gladly continue doing what I do and helping others in their campaigns for Congress, governorships, and other positions. I’ll certainly give more detail about this decision in due time and especially to those who have faithfully and so sacrificially been part of the process. I know I will deeply disappoint many people I love. So many good and dear people have put forth extraordinary effort without any assurance I would mount a campaign. It pains me to let them down. I also know my decision will delight just as many who aren’t that fond of me. I am eternally grateful for the faithful support of my wife, children and real friends who promised to stand with me no matter what. I had come to believe I would be in the race for President. I won’t be. But I will for sure be re-dedicating myself to standing for and communicating the principles of common sense, Constitutional government, and civil discourse that I believe are critical to the survival of our great Republic. From New York, This is MH, goodnight God bless, and I’ll be back next week.
The Daily Hatch 