Informed Speculation

A profile of Mike Huckabee by Morton Kondracke hits all the notes we’ve come to expect: long-shot dark horse, health care a priority, another man from Hope; it’s far from a puff piece, though, as Kondracke challenges Huckabee’s assertion that he won 49% of the African-American vote in his 2002 campaign. Indeed, Kondracke’s profile is a leteral mixed bag; he alternates the good and the bad so thoroughly that it’s hard to see where he lands on Huckabee:

After a number of “education presidents,” the U.S. needs a “health care president” who will expand insurance coverage, improve quality and bring down costs that threaten to bankrupt private companies and government treasuries.

On hot-button issues beyond health, Huckabee is an amalgam. He’s strongly pro-life, has been a high-profile backer of “covenant marriage” (which sets strict limits on when couples may divorce), opposes embryonic stem-cell research and supports President Bush on the Iraq war. But he leans toward McCain’s position on immigration, which is to allow illegals to obtain work permits and eventual legal status. As NGA chairman, he’s also opposed Bush’s agenda on Medicaid – Bush wants funding cuts to drive reform, the governors want the reverse – and on the means of providing Medicaid to hurricane evacuees.

Politically, Huckabee has had his ups and downs in his home state. His poor showing in 2002 followed his wife’s effort to run for secretary of state, as well as controversial pardons he granted to dangerous felons and allegations that he accepted expensive gifts from friends. On the other hand, he enjoyed a 67 percent approval rating in the Arkansas Poll last year, including 64 percent among African-Americans.

Among other comparisons that might be made to Clinton, he’s a comeback kid.

My own feeling is that pieces like this are a plus for Huckabee. When people begin to question parts of your record, that’s par for the course, and a sign that your talking points aren’t just being regurgitated. The overall tone is positive, as indeed, most pieces on Huckabee have been, and he needs the name recognition. Huckabee has positioned himself well in the early going; his two biggest concerns at this point are name recognition and fundraising. Needless to say, we’ll be watching closely.

By the way, don’t forget to vote in Ruffini’s straw poll here…