subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Nov 24 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Photos


Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee spoke to a full theater Friday night at the Bridge View Center. Huckabee described how he runs a clean campaign and compared his actions to Mitt Romney's. - Courier Photo by: Doug Sundin


Published December 28, 2007 10:16 pm -

Hundreds welcome Huckabee


By MATT MILNER Courier staff writer

OTTUMWA – Jon Pedersen walked into Bridge View Center, paused, and raised his Huckabee for president sign with both arms.

It was a bit of a joke. Pedersen supports Huckabee, but he thought people might get a kick out of an extroverted entrance.

“We just want to show support for Mike Huckabee. He represents a lot of the values we like to see in a candidate,” Pedersen said with a grin.

Huckabee’s surge to the top of the polls took a lot of people by surprise. Pedersen said he landed in Huckabee’s camp this past summer, during one of the campaign visits in which it was Huckabee, a couple staff members and little else. He liked what Huckabee said.

Sons Jonathan and Sam stood by, grinning, while Pedersen talked. Friday was one of their first chances to see their family’s candidate in person. The family considered rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain, but settled on Huckabee.

“We’re not super opposed to them, we just prefer Huckabee,” Pedersen said.

New Hampshire polls have not mirrored Huckabee’s Iowa rise. He still trails there. Pedersen said he hopes Huckabee can gain the kind of bounce the Iowa caucuses gave John Kerry four years ago, when Kerry vaulted to a New Hampshire win on the strength of his Iowa performance.

The Pedersens joined several hundred supporters in the theater at Bridge View for an evening speech. The campaign seemed surprised at the size of the audience. Large signs initially blocked off the upper one-third of the seating. They came down when it became clear the audience needed additional seats.

Huckabee entered to an enthusiastic crowd. He thanked people for coming out, saying Arkansas will “close everything” if it sees anything like the snow on the ground outside. His opening remarks were sprinkled with jokes. The near-constant political ads on television were an early target.

“After watching some of these ads about me, I’m not sure I’d vote for myself. It’s pretty brutal. People ask me if it hurts my feelings,” he said.

“That’s where Arkansas politics was good training. You have to realize politics is a contact sport. If you can’t stand the sight of your own blood, you’d be better off buying a ticket.”

Huckabee decried the recent attack ads, saying they just make it harder for Republicans to win in 2008. He struck some basic conservative themes, calling for people to reject socialized health care and cutting back the Internal Revenue Service.

But Huckabee also took swipes at rival Mitt Romney, saying Romney has his own weak spots. He contrasted what he called improvements to Arkansas’ road network with the condition of Massachusetts roads.

“[Romney] probably doesn’t want you to look at what kind of shape the roads were in in Massachusetts when he left,” he said.

Huckabee blasted Romney on tax policy.



print this story    email this story   






autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Employment Opportunities

PLACE YOUR JOB OPENINGS HERE!!!!
Double the effectiveness of your advertising dollar by placing your job opportunities on www.ottumwa.com.

W
...>MORE

See all ads


Today's Front Page

Subscribe to XML Feeds

 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index