In what may signal a setback to the coalition promoting school vouchers and other forms of government aid to private and parochial school parents, a surging candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination has warned that such programs may undermine public education.
Surprisingly, the political heresy came from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister who nine years ago urged conservative Christians to “take back the nation for Christ.”
In a wide-ranging Jewish Week interview, Huckabee — whose surprising second-place finish in Iowa’s Republican straw poll last month vaulted him toward the top tier of GOP contenders — also broke with GOP frontrunners who shun talking to Syria and Iran, although he said he does not necessarily favor high-level “negotiations.”
And he expressed mystification at the reluctance of Jewish voters to abandon the Democrats.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Wednesday at a debate in Durham, N.H., said that he supports a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The debate at the University of New Hampshire was moderated by Fox News’ Brit Hume (Quaid, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/6). Huckabee said he would “love to see” the U.S. adopt an amendment similar to one in the Arkansas Constitution “that says that we believe life begins at conception and that we ought to do everything in the world possible to protect it until its natural conclusion.”
For anyone who wants a good recap of last night’s Republican presidential debate from Durham, N.H., Fox News Channel has a very good summary on its web site with some Fred Thompson coverage thrown in.
Many were calling Sen. John McCain the debate’s winner. It wasn’t the first time he’s been declared the winner of a debate. It hasn’t helped him improve his standing in the past and it probably won’t this time either.
USAElectionPolls.com has been right on Mike Huckabee all along. They predicted that the Arkansan would come in second at the Iowa straw poll and expected big jumps in the polls afterwards.
With Mike Huckabee polling as high as 14% in Iowa and achieving gains in other early states such as New Hampshire and South Carolina, they are right.
The web site claims that through Mike Huckabee’s performance last night, he displayed his views on the war and showcased his strong debate ability. That will take him a long way says the web site specifically due to increased media coverage his spat with Ron Paul will bring.
