August 8, 2007 8:57 PM
Huckabee has his 'moments'
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View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has reason for some optimism going into this weekend's symbolic Iowa straw poll.
The latest Iowa Republican poll shows him tied with Sen. John McCain for fourth place in the Iowa polls -- behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson.
But he knows the history of the symbolic straw poll.
It's a make-or-break moment for all the candidates. Right?
Here's what he told us in Boone, Iowa, on Wednesday:
"You know, for us it's all part of the long haul. I mean, I think a lot of people are saying this is sort of the seminal moment, period. It's not for us, although we think it's a pivotal moment not a seminal moment if that makes any sense."
What?
This might take some translation work. So put on a pot of coffee and keep reading below.
Or, CLICK HERE for this morning's story from the birdcage-lining, old-fashioned paper edition of the Rocky Mountain News. It's about Huckabee's bid for momentum and his pointed advice for how Republican voters might want to compare him to those "nice, decent people" he says he's running against.
View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Huckabee elaborated about the "seminal" vs. "pivotal" thing.
"In other words, we see it as a springboard to keep going forward. But we've never seen it as, well, you know, 'This is it. It's all here.' I mean, we've got organizations in New Hampshire and South Carolina. We know if we do well here, we jump ahead, not crawl ahead. If we don't do well here, it's not that we can't go forward, but it's certainly going to be a greater uphill climb."
That's a lot to digest. But wait...
Does that make the straw poll "seminal?" Or "pivotal?"
In order to understand Huckabee a little better, we decided to look up what he said on the public television show Iowa Press in April, back when he predicted that some candidates might have to drop out of the race by August if they just didn't see any momentum.
"I mean, if it's just not happening, there comes a point at which, whether it's me or somebody else, if you just aren't gaining momentum and you're starting to lose it and you're not getting traction, then you really do need to do yourself, your supporters and the other candidates a favor and, you know, pull the plug and call it a day."
View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer
So, if he doesn't finish near the top of the straw poll field, he'll have to drop out, right?
Apparently "near the top" was the pivotal -- perhaps even seminal -- word in that sentence.
As Huckabee made clear in Boone, the bar is a little lower in this week's expectations game.
"We've got nine candidates. You know, I think that everybody who's in the bottom half, you know, has got to walk away not feeling real good about it. Whether that ends their campaign, they'll have to decide if they have the resources to go on, the momentum, the strength. Do supporters still believe in them. We also know that the closer to the top we are, the more confidence people have that we belong there. And I think we're, again, we're expecting a strong and positive day on Saturday."
Translation: ask again on Saturday night.
Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer
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Post Script: We're really sorry to do this, but...
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