GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee’s rise may have been checked by his fumbled response to the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and his announcement at a press conference that he wouldn’t air a negative ad against Mitt Romney (which he then aired at the press conference). But some of the media reaction generally to the former Arkansas governor would be funny if it weren’t so geographically biased. He’s a religious conservative and former Southern Baptist preacher, but he’s no political naif. He has 10 years of experience governing a state, more management experience than most of his rivals. His peers trusted him to be chairman of the bipartisan National Governors’ Association. And he was included by Time magazine (alongside Kansas’ Kathleen Sebelius) among “America’s Five Best Governors†two years ago, lauded as a “mature, consensus-building conservative who earns praise from fellow evangelicals and, occasionally, liberal Democrats.†There are sound reasons to oppose the guy, but those who treat him like some nutty hick are overlooking his record.
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