Huckabee Tops McCain VP List
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:46 AM

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is at the top of the list of John McCain’s possible running mates, according to a top McCain fundraiser with ties to his inner circle.

Economic conservatives are likely to oppose the choice of Huckabee as McCain’s vice presidential candidate, given the populist tone of his campaign and his tax record as governor of Arkansas.

But in his “Capital Commerce” column for U.S. News & World Report, James Pethokoukis points to the fundraiser’s disclosure and cites several factors that could make Huckabee a strong asset for McCain.

For one thing, the former Baptist minister is a great campaigner who could garner support in the South among social conservatives and at the same time appeal to working-class voters in the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Huckabee would also appeal to many more voters on a “he cares about me” level than millionaire investor and possible vice presidential choice Mitt Romney, especially given all the turmoil on Wall Street this year.

Finally, even economic conservatives who might hesitate to back Huckabee would certainly favor him over the threat of Obamanomics and higher taxes across the board.

© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

here's the cite for the article

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And here is the US News and World Report article:

Who Will Be McCain's Vice Presidential Candidate?

The list includes former presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney
Posted May 13, 2008

Sen. John McCain may be in the early stages of picking a running mate, but that doesn't stop the press from speculating. Today in Washington Whispers, Paul Bedard asks you to pick the best running mate for McCain, and yesterday, our own James Pethokoukis reported that Huckabee tops the list of potential veeps. But there are still other candidates to consider and we're letting you in on some little known facts about each one. Our latest addition is 10 Things You Didn't Know About Rob Portman.

Here are names we've identified in media reports and links to 10 things you didn't know about them (we'll update the list as we hear of more):

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist
Former Arkansas Gov. and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Former Ohio Rep. and former Director of the Office of Management and Budget Rob Portman
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Former Massachusetts Gov. and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford
FedEx CEO Frederick Smith
GOPAC Chair Michael Steele

here's the US N &WR article

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This is great news for Huckabee supporters, and if America knew, better news for the nation. Actually, this is a list full of good names, some better than others, but all good. McCain could do a lot worse than to choose from this list.