January 1, 2008
Posted: January 1st, 2008 06:47 AM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Instead of kicking off one of his last campaigning days in Iowa with a stump speech, Huckabee did it with a 7:30am, three-mile run around Des Moines’ Grays Lake in 17-degree weather. “This really is insane, isn’t it?” he told reporters Monday.

When the shivering journalists asked who would win a footrace against Mitt Romney, Huckabee responded, “Bring him out here and we’ll see. Of course he’ll be running both ways the whole time.”

Shortly after, Huckabee dropped a bombshell at a news conference by deciding not to introduce an attack ad on Romney, yet showing it to the gathered press, sparking a frenzy among the gathered press corps.

The next stop of the day was even more chaotic. Back at his campaign headquarters, the next stop of the day, anti-war protesters had gotten inside and unfurled a banner reading “What would Jesus bomb?’ Police led them away, past a second protest struck up by Ron Paul supporters outside Huckabee’s offices. Those protestors were chanting, “Legalize the Constitution.”

After telling the guests at his New Year’s Eve party about his change of heart over his campaign ad, he grabbed a bass and played ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and ‘Hard Day’s Night’ with the band before making an early exit to get some sleep.

After a day whose sole purpose (essentially) was to get as much coverage as possible, what is Huckabee’s New Year’s resolution? “Stay away from you guys all I can,” he said jokingly to huddled reporters.

– CNN Political Producer Alexander Marquardt

Filed under: Iowa • Mike Huckabee


Churchill   January 3rd, 2008 1:44 am ET

Ru!!
Ru Paul!! is the false one.

mekonnen   January 2nd, 2008 5:26 am ET

Obama!!
Obama!! he is the true one

Jonathan   January 2nd, 2008 1:23 am ET

"Actually, Huckabee has one tiny office on the FLOOR that Dr. Paul rented as his campaign headquarters. Must be PRETTY dispiriting to see the HUNDREDS of people stream in and out of the Paul campaign's offices. No wonder the Huckster spins it the way he does. Control of the media doesn't count for everything though."

This is not correct. First of all, in addition to the office on Paul's floor (which includes several rooms), Huckabee's campaign has most of the 3rd floor of the same building. Also, if you honestly think that there are HUNDREDS of people streaming in and out of the Paul offices, than I assume you've never been there, because this is flat out wrong.

Ryan   January 1st, 2008 10:21 pm ET

Media looks stupid spending all their time around huckabee. Watch Iowa, Watch NH. It will be a Huckadud, and a RP storm.

Rhys   January 1st, 2008 7:28 pm ET

Is Huckabee ever serious?

David, Oregon City   January 1st, 2008 6:46 pm ET

Iowa poll numbers are starting to emerge with Mike Huckabee 2 to 1 over Mitt Romney. It appears in the final moments before the polls, Iowa voters are looking for a candidate with integrity rather than money.

Jen Cedar Falls, IA   January 1st, 2008 6:45 pm ET

The reason the liberal media wants Huckabee to get the nomination is because they KNOW there's no way in the world he could beat any of the Democrats. Then when the Dem's get the White House, they will have done their jobs. Disgusting!

DenisL, DesMoines Iowa   January 1st, 2008 5:39 pm ET

Thank goodness we are 2 days from the election!
The reporters are getting desperate for a story when they cover a press announcement to stop running negative ads BUT the negative ads are run at the announcement AND THEN the press runs the negative ads free of charge for the guy stopping the ads.
It is getting silly.
It is time to vote!
But you gotta love anyone who posts a banner saying:
"WHO WOULD JESUS BOMB?"
The hypocrisy is getting to be too much.
Let's vote already......PLEASE!!

Rita Leone   January 1st, 2008 4:52 pm ET

I would also like to add that Mr. Mike Huckabee should reconsider running
since He obviously cannot take care of his own Family.....
There are allegations stemming from when his own son went to camp
some time back whereby his son, allegedly tortured and killed an innocent
stray dog at Boy Scout Camp '98 and he did NOTHING about it....
As far as I am concerned, his son should be punished just like all other
animal abusers and he, Mr. Huckabee should be reminded that this type of
VIOLENCE is a LINK between cruelty to animals and VIOLENCE against people....
I certainly would not want a man like this to run the UNITED STATES OF
AMERI CA....

Sincerely,

Rita Leone

Edward Rynearson   January 1st, 2008 4:45 pm ET

There is one GOP candidate whose supporters have independently launched a large dirigible (blimp) that is flying along the eastern seaboard. I don't see even a mention of this. CNN has become part of the problem.

This post brought to you by Boeing, making FREEDUMB possible by building weapons sytems used to kill a million innocent Iraqis for their resources.

Churchill   January 1st, 2008 4:39 pm ET

The Ru Paul folks crack me up. They troll around waiting for any opportunity to force Ru on the rest of us. I have said this a million times, RU PAUL will not win the nomination. RU Paul has a very dangerous foreign policy. His head in the sand stance is even riskier than than the libs. Just because you guys type Ru Pauls name, and wave your homemade signs does not mean that Ru Paul is a mainstream, viable candidate. However, I will miss Ru Paul when he drops out. His participation in the debates is great comedy. Ru Paul is the Mike Gravel of the Republican party.

Red   January 1st, 2008 3:59 pm ET

Remember what happened the last time people elected a folksy governor who didn't know much about foreign affairs or economics and wasn't the brightest bulb in the room?

What did we get with that guy?

-Enron and Co. defrauding American utility payers

-$100 /barrell oil

-$4+ Trillion extra to the National Debt

-The U.S. dollar losing 40% of its value against the EURO.

-A larger federal bureaucracy.

-The worst housing market/price declines in 15+ years.

-TWO wars (Iraq AND Afganistan) that have gone on longer than WWII.

-Plus, we went from being universally embraced after 9/11 to universally loathed internationally.

And you people think Huckabee (or Romney?) is qualified? Think again.

Vote for the guy who is the only one talking about ALL these problems –

Ron Paul 2008.

Surrealist, Fort Myers, Fl   January 1st, 2008 3:25 pm ET

OK so he's a great cold weather jogger.

I've asked and asked...and neither he, nor anyone from his team has answered my one question.

His agenda: Elinimate employer contributions to American's healthcare. The business of American business is "business": not healthcare.

My quetsion: He ends it right there!!!

Who will step in to match those employers contributions? Will he rasie wages to cover a 100% monlty premium increase for many Americans?

Will he strong arm the insurance industry to cut their profit from permiums in half??

This idea is half-baked...yet nobody in the GOP, or anbody else I've seen has put him on the carpet to explain how the "void" of employer premium contributions would be address?

Come on Huckleberry–please answer.

James A.   January 1st, 2008 3:05 pm ET

I've been joking for weeks wondering when the media would start reporting everytime Huckabee took a dump. THIS article was eerily close. It's no longer funny. The media have been riding this guy around in a chariot for over a month now, covering him 24/7. I hope it is only to catch the Huck-a-bust that is inevitable. But somehow, I think the media is trying to influence the election. Why do they want Huckabee so bad? They ARE the liberal media, afterall... I hope Iowa voters are smart enough not to fall for it.

shs   January 1st, 2008 2:44 pm ET

"Of course he’ll be running both ways the whole time". Huckabee is using ad hominem attacks rather blatantly but by couching them in humor seems largely to be getting away with it.

Spring, Texas   January 1st, 2008 2:37 pm ET

Ron Paul is the only best answer.

Laurinda   January 1st, 2008 2:05 pm ET

Oh great! Now we have a rock musician running for the presidency. Do you suppose he can walk on stilts and jump on the pogo stick? Can he write and produce a puppet show?

Steve Blaine Washington   January 1st, 2008 2:04 pm ET

See comments regarding fulfilling God's plan for Israel and the West
according to Christian Right.? This is Huckabee and the Christian Right

December 21, 2007
The Huckabee Stool
It’s hard work building a right-wing coalition. Mike Huckabee has been
hammering away at the religious-right base, making explicit appeals based on
his faith and reminding them that he is one of them. He’s signed Grover
Norquist’s tax pledge and embraced the “FairTax” to shore up support from
the economic right. He’s even gotten an endorsement from the co-founder of
the anti-immigrant vigilante group the Minutemen. But all that may not be
enough when you have Pat Robertson come around telling your people to vote
for Giuliani because terrorism is supposed to be the most important issue.

It seems there’s one more faction Huckabee needs to pander to: the
foreign-policy hardliners. That would explain Huckabee’s plans for this
weekend: The former pastor will spend the Sunday before Christmas speaking
at two services at the Cornerstone megachurch in San Antonio, home of
Armageddon advocate John Hagee, who believes “that the United States must
join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's
plan for both Israel and the West.”

For a closer look at Hagee, check out Max Blumenthal’s report from the
Christians United for Israel conference this past summer. Or, if you’re
wondering what Huckabee might be expected to discuss at Cornerstone, watch
this typical sermon, which aired Wednesday on TBN:

Right now, the State Department is in Israel putting pressure on Israel to
give concessions to the terrorist armies that are camped on her borders–to
give up more land for peace. Joel 3:2 says, “Any nation that tries to get
Israel to divide my land, I will bring it into judgment.”

I want those of you in the State Department and in government in
Washington to hear this: If America does not stop pressuring Israel to give
up land, I believe that God will bring this nation into judgment, because I
believe what this book says. And if God brings this nation into judgment, He
will very likely release the terrorists that you've already let get here
through the ridiculous immigration policy you refuse to stop, and this
nation is going to go through a bloodbath that you have permitted because of
what you have done. You have disobeyed the law of God, and now, we as a
nation are going to pay a price for that.

shannon   January 1st, 2008 1:46 pm ET

for someone not going negative he sure says a lot of negative things. also how many times does he need to annouce that he is not going to run this attack ad, I wouldn't be suprised if he showed again just to let everyone know what he is not going to run. what an idiot!

Rob   January 1st, 2008 1:35 pm ET

Huckabee is a liberal democrat running as a republican. That means he is bad for freedom and liberty.

truthseeker   January 1st, 2008 1:04 pm ET

Never trust a tv evangelist- they might seem ok for a day or two but they are after your money – Who would Jesus Bomb? Why doesn't the press ask Huckabee who Jesus tells him to bomb? He does talk to Jesus regularly doesn't he – he is the most religious candidate right?

Huckabee is a one liner buffoon- an aw shucks bozo- now under advisement with the Bush foreign policy team.
God help us.

Farrell, Houston, Tx   January 1st, 2008 12:42 pm ET

Huckabee isn't playing nice guy by not attacking Romney. He is trying to avoid any comfrontation about his lack of knowledge of international affairs. Huckabee as president would have to depend on staffers to run his office and that can prove dangerous. We must have a president who is sharp and knowledgeable in international affairs and not someone who just woke up today to read a newspaper for information and using no fact checks.

Cade Clements, Midland   January 1st, 2008 12:29 pm ET

There really isn't much negative you can say about Romney, unless they are half-truths and misinformation. Romney has a lifetime of great decisions and successful results!

If Huckabee is ever elected to anything again I sure hope he does his job instead of overturning the legal process with his non-existent legal training! When he was governor, his focus was on judging capital crimes and releasing the guilty!

Governors and Presidents need to learn the embarrasment of releasing criminals that kill again (Huckabee), releasing criminals to repay political favors (Bill Clinton Presidency).

Huckabee would once again mis-use his power if given more!

Jen Cedar Falls, IA   January 1st, 2008 12:21 pm ET

I can think of several former Evangelical pastors who thousands and thousands of people put their faith in and sent countless dollars (& unfortunately gave their lives). Jim Johnson, Jim Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggert, oh you know the list, there's dozens of them if you count your locals. The problem is this; people should trust the message, not the messenger. This man clearly does not have the knowledge or toughness to withstand the expectations and whipping of the Presidency of the USA. He cries at these fact-based ads of Romney's? Cry to Momma and bat those big puppy eyes, but you need to realize we need a STRONG character as our President! Just throwing your faith in the ring won't earn you the job. God loves us ALL, religious or not, can you say that about yourself?

annette   January 1st, 2008 12:05 pm ET

I thought I should add that he said on Fox News this morning that he would have all the snow shoveled off the driveways for those in Iowa voting for him, but have that snow thrown on the driveways of those who would not vote for him.

Why are people falling for his sick humor?

The man is sick...

annette   January 1st, 2008 12:00 pm ET

What's sad is the media fell into his hands and he did everything for free! The media posted his commercial of Romney for free and give him tons of coverage yesterday.

Huckabee is a snake...

Louis Nardozi   January 1st, 2008 11:38 am ET

Actually, Huckabee has one tiny office on the FLOOR that Dr. Paul rented as his campaign headquarters. Must be PRETTY dispiriting to see the HUNDREDS of people stream in and out of the Paul campaign's offices. No wonder the Huckster spins it the way he does. Control of the media doesn't count for everything though.

Rick, Washington DC   January 1st, 2008 11:00 am ET

Huck...what a political hypocrite...
Sad

Steve Dasbach   January 1st, 2008 10:55 am ET

The Ron Paul supporters were standing outside Ron Paul's office, which is right next to Huckabee's. They weren't "protesting" Huckabee - they were promoting Ron Paul.

JB   January 1st, 2008 10:45 am ET

Huckabee is running for mayor – and doing a great job of it.

Colin   January 1st, 2008 10:33 am ET

This is just bad reporting. Alex, I'm guessing you got this information second or third-hand and didn't check it out. The video evidence of what really happened is on YouTube. Ron Paul supporters were waving signs and chanting outside the Ron Paul campaign office. It was not a protest, they were just waving signs and chanting to generate interest like they always do. It had nothing to do with Huckabee or the peace protesters' group. They did not cross over to the area in front of Huckabee's campaign. The Ron Paul office just happens to be in the same building as Huckabee's (albiet Ron Paul has 4 times the square footage).

andrew k, RI   January 1st, 2008 10:26 am ET

as much as this guy scares me, i can actually see how he is gaining in this race,

by being ordinary, and humorous.

will this make him a good president?

no

David, Oregon City   January 1st, 2008 10:12 am ET

It’s about Huckabee removing the “For Sale” sign from the White House stupid, not who is the best Poll-a-tician.

Duncan, Richmond, VA   January 1st, 2008 10:09 am ET

“What would Jesus bomb?’

It's a fair question. Why are all but 1 of the religious loving candidates so eager to bomb other nations ?

Vote Ron Paul..

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