Another 'Man From Hope' Running For President

WASHINGTON — The man from Hope joined the 2008 presidential campaign Sunday. No, not THAT man from Hope. The OTHER man from Hope — former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

And just like Bill Clinton, the first man from Hope to run for - and get elected - president, Huckabee launched his campaign with a reminder that he is a Southerner with a special understanding of the region and that he has experience as a chief executive running a state government, albeit a small one.

But where Clinton, in his 1992 presidential campaign, emphasized his credentials as a "New Democrat" willing to buck the political orthodoxy of the Democratic Party, Huckabee used an appearance at an important gathering of conservatives here on Sunday to present himself as an "authentic" conservative in the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

The mild-mannered Huckabee didn't name names of who in the 2008 GOP contest might not be an authentic conservative. And in response to reporters' questions after his speech to the National Review Institute's summit of conservatives, he insisted he was not implying that any of his opponents are inauthentic.

"I'm simply saying that I've got a long record as governor, and I'm sure it's going to be scrutinized and held up to careful examination," he said. "And I'm confident that people are going to find that here was an authentic conservative."

His comments, however, appeared to be aimed at former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who addressed the same gathering Saturday night and sought to calm concerns about his changed position on abortion, a key issue in Republican presidential politics.

"On abortion, I wasn't always a Ronald Reagan conservative," Romney said. "Neither was Ronald Reagan, by the way. But like him, I learned from experience."

In 1994, running against Sen. Edward Kennedy, Romney defended abortion rights and promised to be a strong advocate for gays. And in 2002, while running for governor of Massachusetts, he said that although he personally opposed abortion, he would leave the state's abortion laws intact.

In his speech Saturday night, Romney said he was "wrong" in the past about abortion.

He emphasized, however, that on same sex marriage, his position has never varied. "I opposed then, and do now, gay marriage and civil unions."

Romney is not the only Republican presidential hopeful under scrutiny for positions taken on the hot button social issues of abortion rights, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research, all of which are the top issues of the religious conservatives who dominate the GOP nomination process.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has supported abortion and gay rights. And although Sen. John McCain of Arizona opposes abortion and gay marriage, he has angered religious conservative leaders for refusing to get behind a constitutional amendment defining marriage as an institution involving a man and a woman.

Huckabee said Sunday he is establishing an exploratory committee that will allow him to raise campaign money and hire staffers so that he can evaluate his prospects before formally announcing his candidacy.

Huckabee, in his appearance Sunday, made no reference to the social issues at the top of the religious conservatives' political agenda, concentrating instead on health care, taxes and the war in Iraq.

He said the health care crisis is really "an economic issue" that drains billions from the U.S. economy. He promoted a flat tax as "an idea whose time has come" to replace the federal income tax. And he said the war against Islamic terrorism is "the equivalent of World War III," a conflict that "will take all of our will to win it."

Asked later why he had avoided remarks about abortion or same sex marriage, Huckabee said, "I don't have to go in and authenticate my (conservative) credentials."

He added, "I probably don't need to go into that room (of fellow conservatives) to convince people that life begins at conception, which I believe and always have and have a consistent record that not only is reflected in everything I've said all the way to my teen-age years but also what I've done as governor."

But Huckabee could face a tough fight from other conservatives in the field — most notably Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a favorite of the religious right.

Huckabee acknowledged that the GOP presidential field was getting crowded, but said, "I think there's still room for someone who is Southern, conservative, a person with a governor's experience." He likened the presidential field to a NASCAR race: "The cars in the first few slots on the first lap are not typically the ones that see the checkered flag."

Huckabee, 51, and Clinton, 60, were both born in Hope, Ark., a town of about 11,000 people in the southwest corner of Arkansas.

Clinton made the town of Hope famous during his 1992 presidential campaign with a video entitled "The Man From Hope" that portrayed his humble beginnings and featured a dramatic clip of him as a teen-ager meeting his political hero, the late President John F. Kennedy.

Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, ended his acceptance speech at the 1992 Democratic presidential nominating convention by saying, "I believe in a place called Hope."

Huckabee has invoked Hope as well in his bid for the White House. Since leaving office earlier this month after more than 10 years as governor, he has been on a nationwide tour touting, "From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 Steps to Restoring America's Greatness," a book that lays out his presidential platform.

Huckabee acknowledged the political star power of Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the former first lady of America and Arkansas, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

"Certainly, there's a sort of rock star following she has in the Democratic Party, and I'd be the first to tell you my star is not quite that bright in the firmament just yet," he said. "But throughout our history, what we've often seen is this country loves an underdog. ... So, I understand what I'm up against."