Mike Huckabee

With the easygoing demeanor of a favorite neighbor—you know the kind who is always willing to lend you his weed-eater or his leaf blower—Former Governor Mike Huckabee is easy to like, impossible not to respect, and so approachable that he shatters the stereotype of a career politician.

He has a self-deprecating sense of humor and when he tells one of his true-life personal anecdotes, he can do it with such finesse and flair that he just may have missed his calling as a stand-up comic. He is as polished as a leading man in an old Hollywood movie, as funny as Gomer Pyle, and can play a mean bass guitar to just about any genre of music there is. He is larger than life. He is definitely a superb teller of tales, a man of unapologetic faith and principle, and a communicator who looks you in the eye and actually answers the question that was asked, if you know what I mean.

The governor was in Jackson recently for the Salvation Army’s Annual Fund Raising Dinner. In the current financial climate, requests by individuals for assistance from the Salvation Army are up 30 percent over last year. Before a sell out crowd at the Trustmark Ballroom at the Jackson Convention Center, Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant introduced Governor Huckabee. They have spent time together before and Bryant obviously already knew what the rest of us clearly discerned by the evening’s end. What you see is what you get. There is one Mike Huckabee, one face, one set of principles, and he doesn’t waffle no matter who is asking the questions.

Bryant characterized his friend well. “There is nothing more satisfying than that sense of being completely at home in your own skin. When you achieve that as a natural state of being, then you can finally look beyond yourself and fully contribute all your talents to the world,” said the lieutenant governor. Tongue in cheek, he added, “Mike Huckabee has the reputation of jumping buildings in a single bound…”

Huckabee bantered back in typical self-effacing style when he took the mic. “Phil, you said I was this and that and this and that. The more I listened to your introduction the more I thought it sounded like I am a guy who couldn’t hold a job.”

Who is He Anyway?

The man who finished second in the pursuit of the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination is the former governor of Arkansas who has evolved into a celebrity as host of his weekly talk show on the Fox News network. He is also the man who lost 105 pounds when he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Admitting that it used to take him at least two minutes to catch his breath after his hike up the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol every day, he used to pray all the way up that there would be no reporter waiting for him at the top. His wake up call came the day his doctor assured him he would be dead within the decade unless he adopted a healthier lifestyle. Not only did the three hundred pound Huckabee shed the pounds, he took to running marathons.

Michael Dale Huckabee was born in 1955 in Hope, Ark. True, Bill Clinton was also born there less than a decade earlier. Hope, according to U.S. Census estimates in 2008 had a population of slightly more than 10,000. Governor Huckabee was about 8 years old when his dad, a man who held down two jobs to support his little family of four, took his son to hear Governor Orville Faubus deliver a speech and dedicate a lake. “Buddy” Huckabee proudly told his son that this was a real once-in-a-lifetime thing—to get to see a real governor.

Mike Huckabee said that Hope, down in the far western corner of the state, just a little north of the Texas border, was not the kind of town politicians often visited. There was little money and influence to be found in Hope. Even so, young Huckabee certainly did not have a defeatist attitude as he worked two jobs in high school and thought little of it. He and his younger sister were already much better off than his parents had been at the same age and stage of life. They lived in a tiny rental house on Second Street in Hope. “I am a generation away from abject poverty,” he says, “and I know it.”

His mother had been the oldest of seven, in a home with a dirt floor, no electricity, and she had to quit school early to help take care of the younger children while her parents worked. While Mike and his sister were growing up, his mom worked as a clerk in a local gas company. Mike’s dad worked a 24 hour shift as a fireman and then had 24 hours off. During those 24 hour off days, he did not rest. Instead he worked on rebuilding car generators. “He was one of those guys who lifted things, who worked with his hands, and got his hands real dirty. I think he had grime and grease all over them as long as he lived.” In typical Huckabee fashion about the time you start to imagine his father’s hands and feel really sad, he turns the mood light and says, “We always had Lava soap in our house. I was in college before I knew a shower was not supposed to hurt!”

Mike Huckabee was the first person in his family who graduated from high school. But then he set a new record. He also graduated from college. College was never even imagined by anyone before him—so, in his family he broke the mold, set a new standard and caused his father, who obviously shared his sense of humor to say, “Son, don’t look too far up the family tree. There are some things there that might embarrass you.”

Whatever Mike Huckabee lacked in pedigree, he seemed to make up for in sheer energy, drive, “like-ability” and a wholehearted belief in the American dream.

In 1974 he married his high school sweetheart Janet McCain. They have three children and have enjoyed a happy marriage sharing similar values, background, and faith. She is his cheerleader and his partner. She is also a very good sport.

How good a sport? Well, during Mike Huckabee’s long tenure as governor of Arkansas—as in 10 and a half years—the governor’s mansion, old and historic as most governor’s mansions tend to be—was in need of major repairs. Of course, repairs of this kind are paid for by…who else…the taxpayers. Governor Huckabee knew the importance of a Governor’s residence that welcomed foreign and domestic dignitaries as well as the people of Arkansas. It should be beyond safe and certainly a place that made Arkansans proud. The needed repairs were more than cosmetic. There were some safety issues in question. Still, the price of the overhaul was extensive.

Governor Huckabee came up with a creative plan to save the taxpayers a significant amount of money. He could live in a trailer. What? Yes. He and his family had a TRIPLE wide mobile home moved on to the mansion grounds and this became the Governor’s Mansion for months. The savings were immense as security details did not have to move and there was no big rent to pay. As lacking in elegance as it seemed to be, it was huge in terms of practicality and dollars. Nobody had to relocate—except of course the first family.

Arkansas became the butt of so many late night jibes on Lettermen and Leno, but Mike Huckabee was unphased. He still believes that if it saved the tax payers a lot of money and his family slept just as soundly in their triple wide as in the Governor’s Mansion, he did the right thing. He feels like he was true to his values, true to those who elected him…and maintained his personal unflappable sense of stewardship. And when all was said and done the state of Arkansas was able to donate the “triple wide” to the Boy and Girls Ranch as a home for the kids they take in.

Finding a way to serve others (even with a triple-wide) comes natural to Huckabee. As does his relationship with The Salvation Army whose mission is “to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”

During the special program, Huckabee shared stories of how The Salvation Army had met many needs of those in his state of Arkansas during Katrina. As Governor he relied on their physical help, but also their spiritual assistance. Today, many are still in need and as Huckabee shared, it is our duty to do the right thing.

“At the time the economy is in a downturn and people say, ‘it’s not a good time to ask…it’s not a good time to give,’ but I would argue that there’s never a better time to give than when things are tough,” expressed Huckabee. “The need is greater—so the gift is greater and it is the greatest exercise in faith we ever have—to give in the midst of need.”

His Principles and a Few MCL “Wonderings”

When I got my few minutes with him, I commented that he stands apart as a conservative talk show host. Completely absent is the highly charged atmosphere of conflicting egos and opinions. Huckabee’s interviews are characterized by respect and patience. A guest can count on answering the question without interruption even when their opinion differs from their host. I asked him, “How do you do it and WHY do you do it in such a seeming intentionally opposite way than the Hannitys and the Limbaughs of the conservative base?”

“I just believe that the word host and guest mean something,” Huckabee said. “If I am a host and I invite you to my home I expect to treat you with kindness and I expect to meet your needs. That’s what a good host does. But I also expect you to be a good guest and to act responsibly…If I have a person on my show and start yelling at them and screaming at them and showing disrespect that’s wrong. Why would I not treat them in the manner in which I would want to be treated? For me it comes back to a statement of Jesus’, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I don’t want people yelling and interrupting my every sentence so why would I do that to them?”

In terms of “did you ever think at age 25 you would be doing what you are doing,” his answer was quick and from the heart. Despite the variety in his work history, he could trace God’s hand. “I could never have imagined at age 25 that I would be running for president at all, but looking back I can see that every chapter of my life was clearly a preparation for the next chapter. I think that is true for all believers. I think that we can face every day with the affirmation that there is not so much as a moment wasted when we are living in the grace of God.” He smiles and his deep dimple is apparent. He has a distinct sparkle in those dark eyes as he gives an illustration from the movie The Karate Kid. Remember the teacher who constantly challenged his apprentice, teaching big spiritual and character lessons with very concrete exercises—wax on wax off…i.e. you give it your all, you pay attention, and you realize there is really no part of anything that is unimportant. Pay attention. There is always something to learn.

For Mike Huckabee, the constant in his life is indeed persistent and intentional attention to choices that affirm the value system he has chosen…a value system that is consistent with Jesus’ instructions. His goal above all others is that his life is Christ honoring. And try as they might…there is most likely nobody who is going to tempt him to try a different path. “I will never be apologetic in terms of what my values are. Some people don’t want to hear about people who have bedrock faith—they take offense but it is better to be honest and offend people than to be dishonest and not offend anybody. Then if they find out you did it any other way somebody thinks you were dishonest with them. So get it on the table from the start and that is the best way to go.”

Books by Mike Huckabee

A Simple Christmas (2009)

Do the Right Thing (2008)

Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork (2006)

Character Makes a Difference (2006)

Living Beyond Your Lifetime (2000)

Kids Who Kill (1998)

Facts on Mike Huckabee

• Born 1955
• 44th Governor of Arkansas—1996-2007
• Graduate of Ouachita Baptist University 1975
• Attended Southwest Theological Seminary in Fort Worth 1976
• Served Pastorates in Pine Bluff and Texarkana in the 1980s
• Elected President of the Arkansas Baptist Convention 1989
• Became Lt. Governor of Arkansas in 1993
• Became Governor in 1996 when Gov. Jim Guy Tucker was convicted of fraud charges in the Whitewater investigation
• Re-elected in 1998 with 59.8 percent of the vote
• Announced his candidacy for President of the United States in January 2007
• Conceded to John McCain after an impressive second place finish, showing strength in numerous primaries

Mike’s Tips for Everybody’s Health and Happiness:

• Don’t believe bad reports without documentation
• Read the Bible more and blogs less
• Read more from the “features” page and less from “letters to the editor.”
• Watch classic films made before 1968
• Listen to more music and less talk radio
• Do volunteer work with the impoverished and disabled
• Practice what my philanthropist friends call random acts of kindness
• Read biographies

What He Believes—*taken from Do the Right Thing and From Hope to Higher Ground

On being a guest for some of the late night entertainment shows: “I believe that it is important to get my message to nontraditional audiences in unconventional ways. These are shows that reach people who don’t live, eat, and sleep politics, but will often decide the elections.”

On war and peace: “A true leader shares his power rather than shows his power. True greatness is revealed by humility rather than hubris. Fear can be obtained by a gun, but true respect can only be earned by using one’s strength for unselfish service. Jesus reminded us that if we really want to be great, we must be willing to serve rather than to be served, and that the spirit of our actions is as important as the actions themselves.”

On being Pro-Life: “I will work diligently toward the protection of human life in whatever form it takes. It may take a period beyond my lifetime to see it come to pass, but I do pray that one day we will be clear as to the value and worth of each and every human life. If you’re still on the fence, remember this: contempt and indifference toward any life can become contempt and indifference toward every life, including yours or mine.”