Huckabee supporters react to McCain affair rumors Michael Roston

Published: Thursday February 21, 2008



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Print This Email This While John McCain's campaign went into crisis management mode over allegations that the Arizona senator had an inappropriate relationship with a telecommunications lobbyist, his only remaining challenger, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee offered a muted public reaction to the news. "I take him at his word," Huckabee said in a press conference broadcast just before 11 AM on Fox News, adding that McCain was an "honorable man" and that he shouldn't get into the details of the story. But while Huckabee seemed focused on campaigning in Texas, a traditionally conservative bastion, pundits and his supporters were debating the implications of the reports. "Has the Huckabee miracle occurred?" asked Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times blog. "Mike Huckabee is suddenly a very real contender for president of these United States." Huckabee's low-cost presidential campaign has relied heavily on Huck's Army, the informal network of volunteers who get out the word and the vote for the former governor. And some seemed to agree with Brantley's assessment of the situation. "This is why Mike has been saying he 'can't dropout,'" wrote one commenter at Huck's Army. "God is in control here......!!" But other Huck's Army members were more measured in their responses. "Mike has run a very very clean campaign against McCain and it will be interesting if he takes this opportunity to go a little negative considering how important keeping [T]exas close or winning [T]exas is to his campaign strategy," wrote another commenter. And an additional member said it was best to stay patient in reacting to the news. "Not sure how much legs this has, but I'm sure people will be discussing why Huckabee is smart to sit in throughout this process," wrote a forum participant. Still, one commenter in the forum said Huckabee should not pursue negative attacks based on the story. "He won't ........ he shouldn't. He's bigger than that. Our God is bigger than that," the forum writer said. Huckabee himself did not address the subject on Wednesday evening while addressing a rally of supporters in Texas. "I don't think anyone running for office has ever depended on a single state as I'm depending on Texas," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted Huckabee saying before 2,000 supporters in the city of Plano. Huckabee's delegate deficit to McCain is all but insurmountable and recent polls in Texas show the senator opening up a widening lead over the Baptist minister. Still, it was evident from the words of Huckabee supporters on Wednesday night that the question of McCain's personal conduct may cause them to hew more closely to their chosen candidate. "He speaks for us, the left out conservative Christian group, and we are a big part of the Republican Party and they need to hear us," ABC13 News in Houston quoted a rally attendee as saying. This video is from Fox's America's Newsroom, broadcast February 21, 2008.





