CQ Transcriptswire

SPEAKERS: FORMER GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE, R-ARK.

STUART VARNEY, HOST

[*] VARNEY: On the line now is Governor Mike Huckabee, former presidential candidate. Mike, welcome to the program. Governor, it`s good to see you.

HUCKABEE: Hey. Same here, Stuart.

VARNEY: OK.

HUCKABEE: Happy Fourth of July?

(LAUGHTER)

VARNEY: And to you, too, sir.

Now, you heard the Sarah Palin announcement. Would you say that she was run out of politics, run out of the governorship of Alaska? Did she get fed up with it and left because she didn`t like it anymore? Or is she taking a political gamble, free herself of Alaska politics, free herself of the harsh intrusion into her life, so that she can get on and campaign in the lower 48?

Would you pick any of those three?

(LAUGHTER)

HUCKABEE: I think what she is showing is what many of loved about her, her spunk. She is who she is. And she`s willing to take risks.

Today was an unusual and I believe an unexpected announcement. I would never have imagined it. On the other hand, I don`t know what is in her heart, what is in her mind. I wouldn`t even pretend to know that.

But what I know about her is that she is a very candid, forthright person. And I think we`re seeing a level of candor. Now, if it`s because that she has been unmercifully attacked by the press, then, you know, you have to say, well, get some rest, because it has been tough.

And they have been very brutal to her. And I think some of the recent things have been so unfair.

VARNEY: Yes, but, Governor, you saw her presentation.

And there was an awful lot in there where she -- she said, look -- and I`m quoting now -- she said, “It has been pretty insane.” She was referring to the investigations. She was referring to the legal bills. And I`m sure she was referring to the comments by people like David Letterman about her own family. She said it was “pretty insane.”

HUCKABEE: And she was right, Stuart. It was pretty insane.

VARNEY: Yes. She was indeed right. But has she been -- is she buckling under pressure? Is she getting out because she doesn`t like this?

HUCKABEE: That, I could not answer.

But, certainly, having played on the stage of the national presidential primary, I can tell you it is a brutal experience. But one of the things I told people was that running an officer -- running for office in Arkansas was, frankly, more brutal than anything I ever experienced at the national stage, because it is true in Arkansas that politics is pretty much a full-contact sport played without pads.

VARNEY: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

HUCKABEE: And, you know, it is tough.

VARNEY: Well, I will give you an example of that, Governor. And I would like you to respond to it, if you would.

We have just got the Democrat National Commission -- Committee`s spokesman, Brad Woodhouse, with an official response to the Sarah Palin announcement.

And here`s what he writes this. And I`m quoting now. I would like your response.

“Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her longshot national political ambitions, or she simply can`t handle the job, now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down.”

What is your reaction to that, sir?

HUCKABEE: Well, that sounds like exactly what I would expect coming of the Democratic Convention -- or Committee.

They were always afraid of Sarah Palin because she connected with many of the people that Democrats thought they owned. And that was one of the appealing aspects of her candidacy and of who she was. She came out of a middle-class background. She did not come out of great wealth.

She spoke to the hearts of people who struggled and who knew what that was. And I think that Democrats were dismissive of her because they, in many ways, feared her.

VARNEY: The -- the -- the quote from the DNC spokesman goes on to describe her as engaging in bizarre behavior today.

Is -- what do you make of that?

HUCKABEE: Oh, again, I just liken that unto what I would expect the Democrats to say. They never are going to say anything nice about any of the Republicans. When they do, then you have got a news story.

This is like, plane lands safely. Democrats criticize Republicans. We know that is going to happen. The day they have something nice to say, that is the day we ought to call it a breaking news event.

But what really needs to happen now for Sarah Palin is some time to get away and -- and rest and reflect and -- and recharge her batteries. I don`t think this ends her political career in any way.

VARNEY: Ah.

HUCKABEE: She very much may come back.

(CROSSTALK)

HUCKABEE: That was my question, Governor, because you know politics from the inside out. You have been the governor of a state. You know what politics is all about.

Her move today, dramatic as it was, would you describe this as political suicide?

HUCKABEE: No, I certainly would not, because the people who love Sarah Palin and who want Sarah Palin to be on the national stage are still going to want Sarah Palin to be on the national stage.

They are going to feel like that she was, in essence, hounded from the opportunity of continuing to serve. They`re not going to be upset with her. They are going to be upset with the people that they will blame for having gone after her so just unmercifully.

VARNEY: Yes. The elites in America, I`m prepared to say, really...

(LAUGHTER)

VARNEY: ... dislike Sarah Palin with a degree of intensity which has not been seen in politics for a long time. I mean, they really detest her. That is the elites.

Are there enough other people, non-elite Americans, who like a woman breaking the mold, speaking from the heart, and engaging in real political candor? I mean, do the math. Are there enough people on that side of the fence who will support her four, three-and-a-half years from now? Is this a longshot campaign that we`re just seeing starting.

HUCKABEE: Well, Stuart, only time will tell. And I honestly don`t know.

I think it`s -- it was a gutsy move, yes, a risky move. But this is the lady who has spend her political career going sort of against the grain, and not necessarily doing what was conventional.

VARNEY: OK. You showed well in the last campaign. Will you get back into the next one and take on Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney and all? Will you?

(LAUGHTER)

HUCKABEE: Right now, you know, I just got my contract renewed there at FOX.

(LAUGHTER)

HUCKABEE: I`m having the time of my life. And it is way too far away for me to start thinking about it.

(CROSSTALK)

VARNEY: Oh, come on.

(CROSSTALK)

HUCKABEE: I am not resigning from FOX today, OK?

(CROSSTALK)

VARNEY: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

VARNEY: Governor, but we have been hearing all afternoon how Governor Palin speaks from the heart, she has great candor.

Why don`t you speak from the heart?

HUCKABEE: I am. I`m telling you right now from the heart...

VARNEY: Is your heart in -- is your heart in another presidential campaign, Governor?

HUCKABEE: I`m not ready to make that -- that plunge off of the 103rd floor just yet.

But, as I have said to everybody -- this is the truth -- I`m not ruling anything out. But, right now, my focus truly is on being in a different role. And I`m having, for me, a terrific opportunity to help frame the debate by the opportunity I`m enjoying on the FOX News Channel.

VARNEY: Well, you know, Governor, I really pushed hard.

HUCKABEE: I did.

VARNEY: I do hope you`re not going to go away.

But, please, would you stay right where you are for a moment, Governor, because I`m going to -- just a short time ago, I asked Governor Palin`s brother why he thinks that -- why he thinks that she was getting out of the campaign.

We`re going to run a short clip as to her brother, why he thinks she is stepping down.

Would you listen, Governor, and comment afterwards?

Roll the tape, please.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HEATH JR., BROTHER OF ALASKA GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN: Well, I can tell you what I -- what I believe, after a few conversations with Sarah on the subject.

Two months ago or so, we were -- we were at a local ski resort, talking in a hotel room. And -- and she reiterated to me the amount of time she was spending defending herself from -- from these ethics complaints that have, by the way, all been thrown out, and -- and this nonstop negative media blitz.

And she said that, you know, she was spending up to 80 percent of her time, and a lot of key staff was doing the same, defending themselves, when they should be focusing on state issues. And it -- and it -- and it is not fair to the state and it`s not fair to her family.

And I think this has weighed on her for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARNEY: There you have it, Governor. The media blitz, Sarah Palin didn`t like it. The time she had to spend dealing with these allegations and with the personal affronts, she didn`t like it, stepping down. You just heard what her brother had to say about that.

Governor Huckabee, what do you say?

HUCKABEE: Well, he`s closer to her than probably most any of us who are talking about it today. And I think he`s probably given you a pretty accurate assessment.

But politics is a rough business. And I have always said, if you don`t like the sight of your own blood, better watch this from the stands. You don`t want to be down on the field, because you`re going to come away scarred.

VARNEY: Have you ever seen...

(CROSSTALK)

VARNEY: ... rough as this?

HUCKABEE: And during 10-and-a-half years as governor, I can tell you, one of the things that the opposition party used against me was just a constant barrage of ethics complaints and lawsuits. And a lot of it is done because, if they can`t really attack your policy, then what they revert to is to attack you on a personal level and to try to destroy your character. I think Sarah Palin has been the recipient of a lot of that.

And it sounds to me like she may have just said: “That`s enough. I am fed up with it.”

VARNEY: Yes. I mean, that is modern politics. It is a rough- and- tumble business. It`s a combat sport played without pads, as you said.

HUCKABEE: It...

VARNEY: Do you think, though, that -- I am going to go back to David Letterman`s comment. I`m not going to repeat his comment. It was a disgrace. But, nonetheless, he said it. Everybody heard about it. It was a direct insult to Sarah Palin personally and to her family.

Did that ratchet up the -- the -- the negative level of politics to a degree? Do you think that had something to do with her leaving?

HUCKABEE: Whether it contributed to her departure, I don`t know.

But I will say that the only thing more despicable than the absolutely indefensible comments that he made was the fact that it took him a week to find his apologetic voice to halfheartedly say that he was sorry. That`s what was absurd.

And the lack of groups, women`s groups and others, who came to her defense. Finally, the National Organization for Women reluctantly and -- and sort of eventually came around. But, other than that, most -- most of the -- you call them the elite -- and I think that`s probably an apt term - - simply just looked the other way, as if someone had been hit by a car, and they just turned away and said, you know, it didn`t hit me, so I am not worried by it.

And what a horrible statement that is...

VARNEY: Yes.

HUCKABEE: ... about the state of our culture.

VARNEY: You know, you`re -- you`re very much, obviously, active in Republican politics, at this level of national Republican politics.

Was there any of even vague hint that something like this might be coming out of the Palin camp at any point in recent days or weeks? Was there the slightest hint that this might happen?

HUCKABEE: Well, I certainly didn`t see it coming.

But, you know, I`m not observing Sarah Palin up close. And she`s been in Alaska, kind of out of the public eye, except when she`s really dragged into it by people like David Letterman.

But, no, this -- this certainly was not something I would have expected. In fact, I would have probably bet half a week`s paycheck that this would not happen, so, a complete surprise to me.

VARNEY: If -- if -- and I repeat the word if -- you jump back into the campaign, and if -- I repeat the word if -- Sarah Palin got into another campaign, how would you debate her?

HUCKABEE: Well, I think Sarah Palin and I have kindred spirits when it comes to positions on many issues.

We`re both fiscal conservatives. We both believe strongly in the sanctity of life. And I think we have both been governors. And -- so, there have been many similarities. And I`m not sure that there would be a conflict with Sarah Palin and myself.

I have appreciated that her background is very similar to mine, coming from what I would call a nonconventional, nontraditional approach into politics. I didn`t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I came out of a working-class family, first male in my family lineage to graduate high school, much less go to college.

I have lived the American dream. And I think Sarah Palin , in many ways, has personified that. And she electrified our party when she was named as the vice presidential nominee. And I hope nobody takes that from her. There was absolutely no enthusiasm for the ticket until Sarah Palin was announced. And I saw firsthand out there in the rallies and on the campaign trail the extraordinary enthusiasm that Sarah Palin was able to bring.

VARNEY: But she split...

HUCKABEE: And I admire her for that.

VARNEY: But, you know, Governor, she split the Republican Party, didn`t she? I mean...

HUCKABEE: No, I don`t think so, Stuart. I don`t think...

(CROSSTALK)

VARNEY: But not all Republicans were on board with Sarah Palin as the vice presidential nominee.

HUCKABEE: You know, there were -- there were people who didn`t like Sarah Palin in the Republican. But there were people who didn`t like John McCain .

And, by the way, I will be quick to tell you, there were people who didn`t and still don`t like me. That is just part of politics. If you ever think you`re going to have everybody love you, I will tell you when that happens. It`s when you leave office, and everybody is finished beating up on you. Then they -- they treat you with a great deal of respect.

The best editorial you ever get is the day you either leave office or die. And, if you`re waiting on some accolade during the time that you`re out there make tough decisions every day, you know, it is best not to get into this business, because it is not one for the fainthearted.

VARNEY: Let me close it with this.

Sarah Palin stands for free market capitalism, individual liberty, small government, low taxes. I mean, if I can characterize her positions in a very broad sense like that, I think that is the kind of conservative that she was. HUCKABEE: Yes.

VARNEY: How long do you think it takes for America to get back and have that kind of policy fashionable again? Because I think you will agree with me, Governor, it is not fashionable now.

HUCKABEE: Well, I think it is becoming more fashionable with every day that Barack Obama continues to spend a new trillion dollars and indebt this country`s grandchildren for more than they will ever be able to pay off.

And I think the Sarah Palin kind of conservative you just described is going to be increasingly popular with each passing month.

VARNEY: Governor Mike Huckabee, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on such very short and surprising notice.

Thank you, sir. It was a pleasure. Thank you.

HUCKABEE: I will see you down the hallway.

VARNEY: You got it.

HUCKABEE: Take care, Stuart.

END

.ETX

Jul 04, 2009 11:31 ET .EOF

Source: CQ Transcriptions

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