Huckabee riding talk shows’ waves
Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2007
Tuesday’s MSNBC interview began on familiar ground, with Mike Huckabee defending his support for the U. S. troop presence in Iraq even as some prominent Republican senators began calling for a withdrawal.
Then the show’s host, Chip Reid, threw a curveball.
What did Huckabee think about the news that Republican Sen. David Vitter’s phone number had been found in the records of “D. C. Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey.
“It’s always disappointing when you hear things like that,” Huckabee said. “But he’s apologized. It’s really an issue that he and his family are going to deal with more than anything.”
He added, “The good news for me is that I wasn’t on that list.”
Far behind in fundraising and name recognition, Huckabee has put his wit to use on the television talk-show circuit. It has allowed him to reach a national audience as he continues his uphill presidential campaign.
From January through May, Huckabee was on cable and network news and talk shows 28 times, racking up more than three hours in free airtime, according to data compiled by the National Journal.
Since the Journal released those numbers, Huckabee has continued a busy schedule of appearances, with at least 11 spots on national TV in June and six so far this month.
A network news show, NBC’s Meet the Press, provided the platform for him to announce his exploratory committee in January. He made CBS’s Face the Nation in April and NBC’s Today on Monday.
He has traded jokes with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart and sparred good-naturedly with old pal Don Imus.
Some cable shows keep calling him back. He has made four appearances on Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes and three on MSNBC’s Hardball.
On HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Huckabee assured his host that Vice President Dick Cheney isn’t “upset about some of the things you’ve said — in fact, he’d like to take you hunting.”
Through May, he had logged more airtime than Rudy Giuliani or Hillary Rodham Clinton.
While he has spent much of his time in Iowa or New Hampshire, Huckabee has also “built very strong relationships with the national press corps,” campaign spokesman Kirsten Fedewa said.
“He tries to be available when they want him, and he can address the topic they’re interested in,” Fedewa said.
The appearances showcase the skills Huckabee honed in his youth as a radio sports announcer and disc jockey and later as a Baptist minister.
Kathleen Kendall, a research professor of communication at the University of Maryland, said she noticed during the televised debates that Huckabee “comes across in a very positive, friendly, articulate way” and used “statements that were colorful and vivid.”
Bruce Gronbeck, director of the Center for Media Studies and Political Culture at the University of Iowa, said Huckabee has been busy “defanging” himself.
“He’s working very hard to say, ‘Look, I’m just kind of an ordinary guy with an ordinary set of concerns. I’ve got some basic commitments, but I’m not an evil, extreme, religious bigot, ’” Gronbeck said.
But Christopher Malone, a Pace University expert on presidential elections, said Huckabee’s TV appearances have had a limited effect. He would have to do something unexpected to grab the country’s attention, Malone said.
“I’m up here in New York, and I haven’t been seeing what Huckabee’s been saying,” Malone said.
Even before announcing his exploratory committee, Huckabee was a common sight on national TV. After losing 110 pounds while governor of Arkansas, he made the rounds to advocate healthy habits and promote his book, Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork.
In New York on Monday, Huckabee began his day with the 7 a. m. spot on Today and ended it with a 10 p. m. interview on Alan Colmes’ syndicated radio show.
In between, he did a 48-minute interview with Tom Ashbrook on a National Public Radio program and made shorter appearances on the Christian radio show The Right Balance and on Hannity & Colmes.
Repeatedly quizzed on Iraq, Huckabee said the “surge” must be given a chance and that withdrawing now would lead to disaster. He found opportunities to mention some of his policy proposals — overhauling the tax system, supporting music and arts in public education, encouraging healthy lifestyles.
Sean Hannity asked why, with his solid conservative credentials, Huckabee has yet to break into the first tier of candidates.
“I just haven’t been on your show enough,” Huckabee said.
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