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(Dec. 13, 2007) I covered Mike Huckabee quite a bit over a three year period, beginning the night he won his first political office. With Huckabee today busy campaigning and getting a surprising amount of attention and support in his bid for President, I thought I'd post some of my articles, photos, radio reports and an MP3 of an interview from this early period in his political career. The interview was recorded in July of 1996, two weeks before he became Governor of Arkansas. I took the photos included here on the day of that interview in his Lieutenant Governor's office. I'm not expressing support or criticism, but thought this might be of interest for anyone wanting to learn more about Huckabee's background.
Huckabee On The Phone - Click To Enlarge
Huckabee Photos From Contact Sheet - Click To Enlarge

As he has been portrayed lately in the national media, Huckabee was indeed a friendly and extremely likable person. Sometimes he seemed almost too friendly. Some in Arkansas took to calling him the Huckster because he could use that charm to persuade people on his proposals. He could also seem rather thin skinned and would hold grudges against reporters who crossed him. But most of my experiences were positive, even when questioning him about things he didn't want to talk about. He was always willing to give me a few minutes and seemed to speak with candor, while discussing topics other politicians wouldn't want to discuss.

For a while I saw Huckabee at least once a week when he would come by my radio station to record a weekly radio address. It was heard statewide on affiliates of the Arkansas Radio Network. Bill Clinton had actually started the practice in Arkansas of a Governor's radio address, similar to what had long been done by Presidents. Huckabee expanded it one step further by also hosting a live monthly "Ask The Governor" program, which would take calls from people who often sought to pin him down with tough questions.

I met Huckabee July 27, 1993, the night he won a special election to become Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. A year before he had lost in an effort to unseat the popular, longtime politician Dale Bumpers for the U.S. Senate. In later years he would acknowledge many mistakes in how he handled that first campaign by allowing himself to become too negative in going after a highly respected Arkansas favorite. But with Governor Bill Clinton being elected President in November of 1992, Lieutenant Governor Jim Guy Tucker became Governor with a special election held to fill the Lieutenant Governor's position.

I covered that election night for Little Rock radio station KARN. I was late getting to Huckabee's watch party because I also had to cover the losing candidate, Democrat Nate Coulter, who ironically had been Senator Bumper's campaign manager the previous year. After Coulter's concession speech I hustled over to Huckabee's event, but missed his speech. I spotted him doing an interview with a TV station, patiently waited until they were done, then introduced myself.

I was immediately struck by his friendliness and being able to block out all the activity going on around him, giving me enough time to get what I needed for my reports. Just the way politicians shake hands and greet people, seeming to sincerely look people in the eye is a vital charm that all politicians must have to be successful and Huckabee has that.

I saw him only periodically over the next couple of years, with the Lieutenant Governor not being an especially high profile position outside of the state capitol. But opponents of the President, who were gunning for any dirt they could get on Bill Clinton, were demanding investigations into the President's previous business dealings in Arkansas. While not implicating Clinton, the probes, which started with the failed land development deal called Whitewater, would eventually ensnare Governor Jim Guy Tucker, giving Huckabee the chance to become Governor.

 
Mike Huckabee Cover - Click To Enlarge
  

Tucker announced his plans to resign after being convicted of fraud. With Huckabee to succeed him as Governor, I recorded a lengthy interview with Huckabee two weeks before his inauguration. I would use this for a series of reports for KARN, as well as a cover story for the Little Rock Free Press, an alternative paper I had periodically been writing for as a freelancer.

There had already been talk, even back in 1996 that Huckabee was hoping to one day make a run for the White House. He had already lost one Senate bid and was preparing for another campaign when he got the opportunity to become governor. In my interview, I asked about his long-term political aspirations, with Huckabee saying, "A week ago I thought I was headed for the United States Senate. It looked like everything was in place. Then suddenly the world turned upside down. Because of that, my main and only goal at this point is to move into the governor's office in such a way that brings calm and peace and restores a sense of trust by the people of Arkansas in their government and their governor." You can hear more from Huckabee by downloading the interview below.

Mike Huckabee Interview - Click To Listen

MP3 AUDIO: My interview with Mike Huckabee in July 1996, two weeks before he became Governor of Arkansas. He discussed the Whitewater investigation, his political ambitions at that point and concerns over a Baptist minister serving as Governor. MP3 runs 20:17 (8.12 mb).
Huckabee Photos From Contact Sheet - Click To Enlarge
Mike Huckabee Cover Story - Click To Enlarge
Mike Huckabee Cover Story - Click To Enlarge
Mike Huckabee Cover Story - Click To Enlarge

Quite honestly I had used my position with KARN, which was highly respected news station, to also get an interview which could be used by the Free Press, which was more a liberal and mostly entertainment oriented paper. Huckabee likely would not have agreed to do an interview with the Free Press and did show a bit of hesitation before we started recording the interview when I told him I was also planning to write a piece for the paper. But he went along with it and later surprised me when he wrote a complementary letter expressing surprise with how it turned out. Mainly I think he liked the sidebar looking at his younger days in which I talked with a former high school classmate and a co-worker.

On the day Huckabee was to be sworn in he and the rest of the state got quite a surprise when Governor Tucker abruptly changed his mind. With lawmakers, dignitaries and others at the state capitol for Huckabee's inauguration, they learned that at the last minute Tucker was appealing his conviction and had withdrawn his resignation. I wasn't scheduled to work that day and had only stopped by the radio station to pick up my paycheck. I was told there was a crisis at the capitol and was sent over. I would end up broadcasting much of the developments live as there were frenzied meetings to determine how to handle the situation. After consultations with those who best knew Arkansas law, it was decided that Tucker should be impeached.

  
Letter From Huckabee - Click To Enlarge

 

At one point Huckabee was holding an impromptu press conference outside his office discussing plans for the impeachment. KARN was airing the press conference live by me holding my cell phone in front of Huckabee. At one point I could hear talking on my phone and pulled it back to my head in time to hear news director Vern Beachy saying on the air that Governor Tucker's spokeswoman had called the station and said he would resign effective at 6 pm, about 20 minutes from then.

 

They returned to the press conference where Huckabee was continuing to discuss the impeachment. Realizing that I was perhaps the first reporter there to know this information I waited a few seconds for Huckabee to finish one thought, then interrupted him saying that Governor Tucker would be resigning. At this time there was apparently a letter making its way through the crowd that was to give Huckabee that information, but I was able to let the Huckabee know first.

The general manager of my station detailed the events in a company memo and even celebrated the way we handled the day with cake and champagne in the newsroom the following night. It was a crazy thing to cover. Below you can download an MP3 of Huckabee political advisor Rex Nelson, who had also been political editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, describing the climax of the day and my role in it. There is also a report on Huckabee that I did for CBS.

  
Praising Memo - Click To Enlarge

 

Tucker's forced resignation - Click to listen!

MP3 AUDIO: Mike Huckabee political advisor Rex Nelson discussed the forced resignation of Governor Jim Guy Tucker and my role in breaking the news to Huckabee. His comments came on the KARN program Sunday Digest, August 4, 1996. Length 3:07 (2.86 mb).

Tucker's forced resignation - Click to listen!

MP3 AUDIO: CBS lead story, July 15, 1996, on Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker being forced to resign rather than be impeached after his conviction on Whitewater-related fraud charges. That pushed Lt. Governor Mike Huckabee to become governor. Length 0:58 (909 kb).

 

It was rather strange that Huckabee's first official act as Governor was to sign the death warrant for an Arkansas inmate named SiFu Frankie Parker, moving his execution up by five weeks. I had first learned about Parker's pending execution a few months earlier through my upstairs neighbor who was involved with a Buddhist group that Parker had become a member of while incarcerated. Huckabee moved the date, which had been set by Governor Tucker for September 17, 1996, up to August 8. Parker had killed his ex-wife's parents following a bitter divorce, but was hoping for his sentenced to be reduced to life in prison. I recorded a lengthy interview with Parker at Tucker Prison, which was balanced with Governor Huckabee explaining why he had moved the date up and was refusing Parker's plea.

   Buddhist To Be Executed - Click To Read   Executed Man's Family Run Out Of Arkansas - Click To Read

 

Si-Fu Frankie Parker Execution - Click To Listen
MP3 AUDIO: SI-FU FRANKIE PARKER EXECUTION. The program cuts back and forth between Parker and Governor Mike Huckabee. It aired the morning of August 8, 1996, 12 hours before Parker was killed by lethal injection. The MP3 runs 23:08 (21.1 mb).

 

I moved out of my home state of Arkansas in January 1997 to take a job in Richmond, Virginia, so I left before many of the controversies that would come during his time as Governor. He's now getting so much scrutiny over pardons and tax hikes, that we'll just have to see if these cut into his support for President. But I've got to say that I am surprised and impressed with how well Huckabee has done up to this point. As a fellow Arkansan, there is a sense of pride, the same I felt in 1992 as Bill Clinton surprised many, surging ahead to win the Democratic nomination and eventually the general election. I don't know if Huckabee can do it, but we'll see.