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No More Mr. Nice Huck

Republican Huckabee takes on new post-election life

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 25, 2008 3:40 PM CST

(Newser) – The post-election, book-peddling Mike Huckabee is folksy and affable as ever, but he's no longer pulling his punches when it comes to his party's run at the presidency: If he’d been the nominee, the election “would’ve been very different,” Huckabee tells Lauren Collins in the New Yorker. “I would’ve campaigned that the economy was headed toward meltdown. I was saying this back when I was getting laughed at by the Wall Street Journal.”

Huckabee’s likewise miffed his VP candidacy evaporated, while Sarah Palin, with similar views and experience, was chosen. "It was like they suddenly decided that everything they disliked about me was OK. She was given a pass by some of the very people who said I wasn’t prepared.” Huckabee doesn't skimp on opinions, from Beyonce (“amazing”) to pre-nups (“horrible”). Just don’t ask him about 2012. “For gosh sake,” he says, “just give it a rest, please!”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

In this Jan. 3, 2008, file photo, then Republican presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, speaks early on caucus day during a campaign stop in Grinnell, Iowa. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during a "fair tax" rally Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee waves to the crowed as he arrives at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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I was scratching my head, saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute. She’s wonderful, but the only difference was she looks better in stilettos than I do.' - Mike Huckabee, on the Sarah Palin pick

Had he put a stake in the ground and said, ‘By gosh, I’m not voting for this—I’ll stand against it and fight it with everything in me,’ I think he might have turned the election. - Mike Huckabee, on how McCain should have approached the bailout

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No More Mr. Nice Huck