January 04, 2008
Winds of Change Blow Into NH With Huck
HENNIKER, NH – For months pundits have been saying that Barack Obama is the rock star of the presidential contest because of his appeal to younger voters -- and the massive turnout at many of his events. But there is only one candidate who can truly claim the mantle of 'rock star' for the traditional reasons: Mike Huckabee.
After a big victory in the Iowa, Huckabee rolled into the Granite State on his big campaign bus and showed voters here that he can truly jam. Playing bass guitar with the well-known local band Mama Kicks, Huckabee held a rally at New England College Friday afternoon and tried to claim another title that seems to be vital to winning the presidential nomination in either party this cycle - the title of change agent.
"The people still do rule," Huckabee told a sizeable crowd of more than 300 people gathered inside the college's gymnasium. "And that's what they do every time we have an election, they rule. They make decisions. They make choices, and that choice this time looks like a choice for change."
Exit polls from Thursday's caucuses reflected the importance of change to Iowa voters, and national polls have shown that being an agent of change is central to winning over independents. So during a rally that was, in many ways, a reintroduction to voters here after his victory in the Hawkeye state, Huckabee tried his best to prove that he can provide the change that so much of the country is hungry for.
"There's a fresh, new wind blowing in this country," Huckabee said. "It's a wind that blows for change and blows for a better America…When you go to vote you will help change the government. We're going to have a change of government in November of 2008. We don't know how it's going to change, but we're going to have a change of government.
(NBC/NJ's ADAM AIGNER-TREWORGY)
"Let's really breathe that wind of change in this country," he said. "I believe it started in Iowa last night. I want it to continue in New Hampshire on Tuesday, and continue through the rest of this country."
Huckabee also showed Friday how he plans to be effective in New Hampshire, a state that lacks those Evangelical Christians who bolstered his efforts in Iowa on Thursday. The message that Huckabee is relying on to win over Granite State voters is more populist; he detailed his poor upbringing today and told of his path to the Arkansas governor's mansion.
"I've been listening to the television pundits who said, 'Well, Huckabee did well in Iowa, but he won't do that well in New Hampshire,' but why not?," Huckabee asked. "No, I have not lived here. I have not, perhaps, run for office here before. I have not spent gazillions of dollars trying to convince you what a wonderful person I am. All I've got to do is let my wife tell you I'm a wonderful person and maybe you'll believe me. I don't know.
And this: "But here's what I will do. I pledge to you that if you give me the opportunity to be your president, I'll not just remember who you are, but I'll remember where I came from because I probably came from the same kind of place some of you did. I think one of the reasons that I did well in Iowa and probably will here is because people realize that they really do want a president who reminds them of the guy they work with, not the guy that laid them off. Quite frankly, I understand struggle."
Huckabee has used this message in the past to differentiate himself from his much wealthier opponents – most notably Mitt Romney – and if today's appearance is any indication, he seems inclined to rely on it more heavily in the run-up to Tuesday's primary.
Posted at 09:37 PM
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Go Mike!
Sally | 01.05.08 01:00 AM
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