Mike Huckabee - 2008 Presidential Candidate

Gov. Mike Huckabee, Republican candidate in the 2008 Presidential election, was born in Hope, Arkansas in 1955, eight years after the former President Bill Clinton. Both grew up poor. In fact, Huckabee asserts his early life in Hope is what sets him apart from the typical Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential election. "I felt there were so many people making decisions in public policy who were sincere and well-meaning, but they didn't have a clue as to what the real hurts of humanity were," he is quoted by Bill Sammon, (The Examiner, Sep 13, 2006).

Mike Huckabee served as a Baptist minister from 1980-1992, leading rapidly growing congregations in Pine Bluff and Texarkana. Huckabee was a denominational leader during that time and was the youngest president ever of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Huckabee states that his ministry service gave him a deep understanding of the problems faced by families and individuals.

In the same Sammon interview, Huckabee goes on to say, "They [policy makers] thought they understood, but they really had never walked into a home where there was no heat. They'd never, ever set down with a family who had just had a complete loss to fire - with no insurance. They didn't really know anyone like that. They'd read news stories. But it's a different thing when you literally know those people." He adds: "For every social pathology there is, I can put a name and face to it.

From 1996-2007, Mike Huckabee served as Governor of Arkansas and was named to Time magazine's 2006 list of the nation's best governors. Governing Magazine name his one of it's Public Officials of the year for 2005 and Huckabee received the American Association of Retired Person's Impact Award the same year. Huckabee contends one of his proudest achievements as governor was signing legislation creating ARKids First, a program that provides health insurance coverage for more than 70,000 Arkansas children who wouldn't have access to adequate care otherwise.