posted by Alan Greenblatt
I read outgoing Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's book about weight loss when I was writing a story for Congressional Quarterly about his having shed 110 pounds. In it, Huckabee outlined a "12-STOP" program for ending bad habits and picking up healthy ones. Much of the advice seemed sound.
I see that Huckabee is taking the idea of running for president seriously, since I've just received his obligatory new book, From Hope to Higher Ground. Even though the book is about large societal issues, Huckabee clearly still is thinking inside the self-improvement mindset.
The subtitle of the new book is "12 STOPs to Restoring America's Greatness," including "STOP Robbing the Taxpayers," "STOP Abusing Our Planet" and "STOP the Revenge-Based Criminal Justice System."
For some reason, I don't see this book knocking Barack Obama from the top of the bestseller lists.
Besides being gimmicky, those subjects explain why Huckabee probably won't get a lot of traction in the presidential race. Under different circumstances, his "new evangelical" views -- traditional conservative stances on abortion and gays, combined with support for environmental protection, welcoming immigration policies, reforming convicts and public health initiatives (all grounded in his Christian beliefs) -- might have been able to unite moderate and conservative Republicans. However, in a contest where the three leading Republican contenders, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, all face skepticism from conservatives, there isn't much room for another candidate whose conservative bonafides are in doubt. This is why South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, whose conservatism is doubted by no one, really should make a run for it.
Posted by: Josh | Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 11:28 AM