This article does a decent compare contrast of Huckabee in 2008 and today.
May 8, 2015 | 2:45 p.m. EDT
The Mike Huckabee of 2008 didn't have the right kind of appeal to win the 2008 campaign. This time around, Huckabee could be a formidable force – but only if the former pastor resurrects the Mike Huckabee of 2008 and resists the temptation to be too much like the rest of the GOP field in 2016.
Huckabee never had much of a chance in 2008, and it's not because he had nothing to offer. It was that he was not part of the stodgy or moneyed Republican establishment. He was a former governor of Arkansas, eliciting almost a knee-jerk impatience and derision from Republicans who had unsuccessfully tried to thwart the presidential ambitions of another former governor of Arkansas. Huckabee was charmingly self-effacing and had a quick, folksy wit. He was unabashed about discussing his modest upbringing and his struggles with his weight. And it wasn't part of a narrative of the slick, slim, wealthy politician who managed to overcome adversity. It was just Huckabee saying, "yep, been there, folks."
The Huckabee of the 2008 campaign had some interesting and important things to say – things that didn't get as much attention, as he was never considered (despite his win in the Iowa caucuses) to be in it for the long haul. He gave a foreign policy speech in which he cautioned against a rush to use of force in Iraq, saying that before the U.S. puts boots on the ground in the future, it needs to "have some wing tips there first." Huckabee was a lone and passionate voice for spending money on preventive care, noting that treatment of chronic illnesses accounts for the vast majority of medical spending. Now, such talk has been politicized by the fight over the Affordable Care Act, which includes coverage of preventive care.
And Huckabee wasn't afraid, in 2008, to talk to – and listen to – people he might not be aligned with politically. At a National Education Association forum in Philadelphia in 2007, Huckabee was the only Republican who showed up to address the teachers union. He earned several standing ovations as he talked about the importance of art and music education and the role such instruction plays in helping students with math and spatial ability. Would the union endorse Huckabee or any Republican in a general election for president? Not likely. But not all teachers are Democrats or liberals, and Huckabee might have won some individual votes there. And more to the point, he made it clear he was willing to have a dialogue – a trait that is sorely lacking in today's political environment.
Since that campaign, Huckabee has been more TV personality than bridge-builder. He has assiduously – almost exclusively – courted social conservatives, talking in his presidential announcement about guns, God and gays. He opposes gay marriage – increasingly a loser of a position – and called homosexuality a lifestyle choice similar to drinking .
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/susan-milligan/2015/05/08/mike-huckabee-should-imitate-his-2008-campaign-in-2016
= new reply since forum marked as read
