From Mike Huckabee to Mike Hucka-maybe?
Add Mike Huckabee's name to the list of Republican heavyweights
thinking about running in 2012:
Mike Huckabee has been approached by Republican and conservative activists unhappy with the current crop of presidential hopefuls and he is considering entering the fray, two sources who have spoken with Huckabee told Reuters.
The former Arkansas governor, who made a splash by winning the Iowa caucuses as a candidate in 2008, announced last May on his Fox News show that he would not enter the race.
But the conservative Huckabee, who appeals to evangelical Christians and is seen as an effective campaigner, is taking another look at jumping in, said the two sources, who are close to Huckabee. They spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
"He is entertaining the request for conversations about it," one of the sources said. "I do not think it is a complete 100 percent 'I'm reconsidering' but he hasn't shut the door on it."
The cynic in me says that this is just an effort to increase ratings for Huckabee's interview with Mitt Romney on Sunday, but if there's any truth at all to the story, it would seem to completely rule out the possibility of any imminent endorsement of Romney.
The bigger point, however, is that whether or not Huckabee himself is rethinking a bid, the fact that there are Republicans asking him to run is one hell of a vote of no confidence in both Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. From all appearances, Republicans don't think that Rick Perry can beat President Obama ... and they're scared to death that Mitt Romney can't beat Rick Perry.
12:34 PM PT: Adam B takes the opposite view: that whatever Huckabee's agenda, the people who supported him in Iowa, really don't want to see Romney get the nomination—and the fact that they are turning to Huckabee shows that they are afraid that Bachmann (and, I suppose, Perry) don't have what it takes to get the job done.