Posted on 02/01/2008 12:45:11 AM PST by Red Steel
SAN FRANCISCO -- Mike Huckabee brushed off predictions Thursday that he would drop out of the Republican presidential nominating contest, but dropped new hints that he'd prefer John McCain to Mitt Romney as the party's eventual pick.
Huckabee, who hasn't won a caucus or primary since Iowa, emphatically dismissed the suggestion that the GOP race was a two-man contest, with Rudy Giuliani out of it and questions about whether he was sticking it out to angle for a running mate spot.
"I'm staying in the race because I still think I can win," he told an enthusiastic audience of about 170 people at a campaign appearance organized by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Club.
"When people say, 'Why aren't you going to drop out?' I look at the two other guys and say, 'Why don't they drop out?"'
Huckabee also was scornful of the idea -- apparently from Romney's camp -- that he would siphon votes away from Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and thus help ensure McCain wins the nomination.
"I think it's pretty desperate when you say a vote for Mike Huckabee is a vote for John McCain. A vote for Huckabee is a vote for Huckabee," the former Arkansas governor said. "If Mitt Romney can't understand how electoral politics works, maybe that explains why he has spent so much money and doesn't have a lot to show for it."
Huckabee made other unflattering comments about Romney: "Look how much money he spent to get the same market share as I did -- I would say my message is selling better than his."
But he had nary a negative word about McCain. Huckabee said he'd gone out of his way to congratulate McCain on his big endorsements from Giuliani and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and joked that McCain should leave some endorsement crumbs for him.
Huckabee said he'd be glad to capture some big-name Republican endorsements, but told reporters after the event, "I've never been the pick of the establishment. I probably will never be. That's OK, Ronald Reagan wasn't either."
Huckabee remained relentlessly optimistic when two women stood up on chairs demanding an end to the war in Iraq while he was speaking. One of them was carried out of room on the shoulder of a hotel guard.
"Let's not be angry at that person. Let's just be grateful that once more we are reminded how grateful we ought to be to be citizens of the United States of America," he said.
Huckabee basked appreciatively in the audience's frequent applause, and said he had no problem campaigning in a liberal bastion such as San Francisco because Arkansas had a Legislature controlled by Democrats when he was governor.
"I would like to think in San Francisco, a city that prizes tolerance, they would be tolerant of a Republican running for president, too," he said.
Stressing that contests in delegate-rich Midwest and Southern states where he has strong support are still to come, Huckabee pointed to the reversal of fortunes for Giuliani, who was the party's presumptive front-runner last summer while McCain's campaign was struggling.
Huckabee, who campaigned in Southern California on Wednesday and was heading to San Diego on Thursday afternoon, said he also would focus on picking up delegates in states where they are awarded proportionally, including California.
"I don't know if I can win the whole state. But I think there are places in the state I can win like San Diego, Orange County, where I was yesterday," he said.
kiss ass Huckabee
Wow, what integrity. Feh.
This spoiler will be going back to Arkansaw empty handed because Mad John McCain will never be president. But Huck will happily prevent a viable Republican from competing. Huck is as much a snake as Crazy John
Regards
Oooooh, that's gonna leave a mark...
Scornful? I think not. He was scornful of the truth. He is sucking votes away from Romney. He is handing the primary wins to McCain pure and simple.
I think there is no doubt that Huckabee is staying in the race because he knows that his presence splits the Conservative vote in the GOP. He dislikes Romney that badly.
I am also sure that the GOP establishment will reward him for his service in this.
At this point, conservatives best chance is to back one man against McCain. Romney.
McCain will become the nominee without a united effort. I pray it is not too late to get just enough agreement. Romney was my third or fourth choice since the beginning. But he is clearly way closer to me ideologically than McCain is today.
(((HuckaPING!)))
Let's crunch some numbers, shall we?
The Washington Times says that Romney spent $53.6 million in his campaign the first 9 months of '07...Combining 2 sources--Backchannel media & CNN who mentioned media buys for that same exact time frame--almost $13 million of the $53.6 million was just for media.
MSNBC says Romney spent $7 million in Iowa (& that didn't count the $2-4 million he spent in '07 in the same state leading up to their straw poll)...whereas Huck spent only $1.4 million in Iowa. Romney then spent probably another million in NH (don't have any exact figures), then another source says he spent $4 million in the South...and another source says he purchased 3100 TV ads in Michigan between Feb of '07 and 1/13/08--at a cost of $2.6 million.
That's over $30 million in media buys up thru mid-January--not including Nevada, Wyoming, or any Super-Tuesday targeting. Assuming he has doubled his spending the last 4 months compared to the first 9 months of '07 (a conservative estimate), his campaign is easily over $100 million these past 11 months.
Cost per delegate: $1.34 million (conservative estimate)
Yeah, Arkansas is just like San Fransicko.
Well, that explains Bill & Monica, Hillary & Huma and Huckleberry's penchant for "free range" squirrel.
Oh, I thought those were either San Francisco’s finest, or the fashion police.
No, just typical San Fransicko Democrats.
He may take the same route that Fred Thompson did, and not endorse anybody. Or he may endorse McCain. Or he may be in it on behalf of McCain and will be chosen as the VP. In any case, we’ll know in a couple of weeks.
I do not support Huckabee for president. I was just commenting on the thwap he dealt to Romney.
Huckabee is a coward. He refuses to chide McCain’s support for using tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research yet calls himself pro-life.
He’s McCain’s crooked stalking horse.
I'm no fan of Romney but I can't stand McCain, who prays each night that Huckabee stays in.
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