National Review Institute: Mike Huckabee

Mike Hucakabee Speaking to National Review

Mike Huckabee is an instantly likeable speaker. As I walked in after driving through rainy, Sunday morning Washington DC streets, he was telling a story about getting a “whuppin'” from his dad when he was a kid. He made the point that when you get a whuppin’, you need to know why. . . and you need to avoid doing whatever it was that got you the whuppin’ again. Republicans, he said, need to understand why they got a whuppin’ in November.

To my surprise, the media is back this morning. There are at least three cameras in the back covering the speech. Not as many as for Romney last night, but still, a good turnout.

Jack and I met him yesterday afternoon and talked about running marathons. He ran the New York Marathon last year while injured and we compared notes on the pain of crossing mile twenty. . . and gutting it out to mile 26.2. He might get my vote just for being a marathoner. It’s a nice analogy for a presidential race that’s for sure.

So, interesting that he is talking about health care now, from a very different perspective. Story of Starbucks (owner?) who told Huckabee that he spends more on health care each year than he does in buying coffee for the entire nationwide franchise. Amazing. Told the good joke about NFL football — 22 people on the field who need a rest, and 70,000 people who desperately need some exercise.

Catching up a little — he’s just been interrupted by the largest round of applause yet. Jack tells me he just said that Steve Forbes is right and that we need a flat tax.