Huckabee -vs- Clinton & Blogger Conference Call

Huckabee -vs- Clinton

I have heard many people question whether Mike Huckabee could beat Hillary Clinton in next year's general election. Not only has Gov. Huckabee been successful against the "Clinton political machine" in Arkansas, but now some polling data shows that Huckabee (as well as other top republican candidates) would beat Mrs. Clinton! Here's the story from Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton trails five top Republican presidential contenders in general election match-ups, a drop in support from this summer, according to a poll released on Monday.

Clinton's top Democratic rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, still lead Republicans in hypothetical match-ups ahead of the November 4, 2008, presidential election, the survey by Zogby Interactive showed.

Clinton, a New York senator who has been at the top of the Democratic pack in national polls in the 2008 race, trails Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee by three to five percentage points in the direct matches...

Huckabee Blogger Conference Call Summary

This morning, I participated for the first time in a Blogger Conference Call hosted by Gov. Huckabee. There are now over 400 bloggers who are using their blogs to support Huckabee's campaign for President. He credits the blogging world for making his recent surge in the polls possible by 1) getting out the positive news, and 2) responding to negative attacks with truth and facts. It was enlightening to listen in as fellow bloggers asked questions, and Gov. Huckabee took time to address each one by name and answer their questions. Below is a summary of the topics discussed:

• Homeschooling -- Huckabee's first appointment to the Arkansas State Board of Education was a homeschooling parent. His children went through the secular education system, but he is very supportive of the homeschooling movement. I believe a national homeschooling group has endorse Huckabee. For an in-depth analysis of this subject, you need to read this article by a homeschooling mother in Michigan.
• Fair Tax -- The key to the fair tax is understanding that there is a 20% imbedded corporate tax in all the products we purchase. Implementing the fair tax would lower the initial cost of products by 20%. The average American pays 33% of his income to taxes. Under the fair tax plan, that rate would drop to 23%.
• Web Site Traffic -- The Huckabee website was not prepared for the influx of visitors after the Chuck Norris ad played. As a result, there were some delays accessing the site. They are continuing to upgrade the servers. Also, some hackers have been attempting to shut down the site.
• Education -- Huckabee lamented the fact that in the first eight debates, not one education question was asked. In the last debate, one was finally asked, but he was not given a chance to address it. During a break, Huckabee spoke to the moderators, and they admitted they should have addressed the question to him, because he has some good ideas about education. The Governor would also like to see more questions in the next debate about domestic issues such as healthcare, the environment, and energy independence.
• Michigan's Early Primary -- Huckabee was in Michigan earlier this month, but he cannot make it a priority, even though the primary has been moved up to Jan. 15th. This is due to 1) limited resources, and 2) the results in Michigan won't make as much impact as the results in traditional early primary states will make because of media perception. He believes Michigan did themselves a dis-service by moving our primary up. Romney is expected to win the state because he grew up here, and his father was a former governor of Michigan.
  
• Immigration -- Reiterates that he is for secure borders, and against amnesty. He says that attacks by Romney and others accusing him of giving special benefits to illegal immigrants is not true. He supported a failed bill that would have given the children of illegals the same eligibility as other students for college tuition breaks which was merit based, with no limitations on the number of scholarships offered. In order to be eligible, the children of illegals had to go through the Arkansas public school system, excel in their grades, be drug/alcohol free, and apply for citizenship. His reasoning for this is that minors should not be punished for the crimes of their parents. Further, it would be better for these minors to get on a path to citizenship, and have an education that would help them become tax payers instead of tax takers.
• Attacks -- There is a section on Huckabee's website called the "Truth Squad." His staff is in the process of adding more information to counter attacks. The plan is to have a summary statement, then a list of DETAILED responses for those who are interested in a more thorough, in depth article.

The next debate is Wednesday, Nov. 28th. It is sponsored by CNN/You Tube. Go Huckabee!