What’s in a President?
Do you remember a certain debate in Michigan, during the Republican primary season? The candidates were asked if they felt the American economy was going into a recession and Mike Huckabee was the only candidate to really nail the issue on the head. You can read the full transcript of the debate at MSNBC.
You know, a lot of people are going to be watching this debate. They’re going to hear Republicans on this stage talk about how great the economy is.
And frankly, when they hear that, they’re going to probably reach for the dial. I want to make sure people understand that for many people on this stage the economy’s doing terrifically well, but for a lot of Americans it’s not doing so well. The people who handle the bags and make the beds at our hotels and serve the food, many of them are having to work two jobs, and that’s barely paying the rent. And you know what else? They don’t think that they can afford for their kids to go to college; they’re pretty sure they’re not going to be able to afford health insurance.
This was on October 9, 2007 and even then, Huckabee had a grasp of how the economy was really doing. The other candidates might have thought he was a fool, but he knew what he was talking about.
On the way to work this morning, I was listening to NPR and they were talking about the results of an NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health poll. It was taking a look at Ohio and Florida and how the voters in these two swing states were feeling about the economy. You can read the full resulst of the poll here, but I want to point out something that I thought was very telling. The poll results state:
Like people in the nation as a whole, Ohioans and Floridians overwhelmingly say the national economy is in not so good or poor shape, and that now is not a good time to buy the things they want and need. Most people see power in the presidency to help fix the economy; eight in ten say that a president can do at least “a little” about the economy, including four in ten in Ohio and nearly half in Florida who think the economy is something a president can do “a lot” about. Fewer than one in five in each state say the economy is mostly beyond any president’s control.
Did you get what that said? People actually believe a President can do something to change the economic outlook of our country. Of course, that would have to be a President that didn’t have the oil companies in his pocket. It might also have to be a President who knows what it is like to struggle to make ends meet. Maybe a President that understands how ordinary Americans fight every day to provide for their families and to give them something in life.
Does all of this sound familiar? Does it sound like President Bush? Does it sound like Hillary Clinton? Does it sound like John McCain or Barack Obama? I think not. If you have watched and lisented to Mike Huckabee for any length of time, you will know and understand how he empathizes with us as a person, family man/woman, or American. He understands how we are struggling every day.
Even though Mike Huckabee was virtually an unknown when he entered the Republican Presidential race, we knew by listening to him that he had what it took to be our President. That’s why we fought tooth and nail to help him win the election. It wasn’t just what he said, but also what he did about the issues he faced while Governor of Arkansas that drew our attention. He actually governed and got things done. Alas, it looks like 2008 is done for. We can only hope for 2012.
That’s my take!
Larry
Huckabee had to take time off of his campaigning honoring paid speaking engagements to pay his own personal bills. Michigan is once again facing trouble with automaker layoffs. The compassion of a pastor’s heart showed forth again when Huckabee was filling in for Paul Harvey today and reported on the troubles at GM. Huckabee realizes that the people being laid off are the ones that will feel it the most. When asked about energy; Huckabee mentions how the rising prices are affecting families and told the story of getting an e-mail from his trucker friend. He knows what we are going through because he is one of us.
McCain would be wise to choose Huckabee as his VP.
A big majority of our economy problems are linked to high fuel and energy bills. While speaking at the Iowa GOP Convention; Gov. Huckabee said, “If somebody is going to get rich drilling oil, it ought to be Americans.” Huckabee later said, “The people on the coasts of America have forgotten something. We don’t elect a president to solve all our problems, you elect a president to leave us alone to solve our own problems.”
President Bush lifted the executive ban on American drilling. Now if we could just get Congress to lift the Congressional ban and “leave us alone to solve our own problems” we might get through this. The first step is for Speaker Pelosi to allow the discussion to be brought to the floor.
Pelosi was so upset when Bush lifted the ban that she gave out his phone number and told people to call him and complain. One of her fellow Congressmen did unto her what she did unto Bush. He released her number and encouraged us to call her at 202-225-0100 to express our feelings.
Great post, Larry!
I agree with you about Mike Huckabee. He nailed it on the head when he said, “they come to you, but I come from you.” That sums him up perfectly.
I had the coolest thing happen 2 days ago. I received a “twitter” from Mike Huckabee! Who knew!? Now if he can twitter….