Huckabee on 2016 outsiders: Who wants an 'honest to God amateur?

By AL WEAVER (@ALWEAVER22) • 9/30/15 1:53 PM

If polling is any clue, GOP voters are clamoring for an outsider in the 2016 race.

However, Mike Huckabee is having none of that.

In a lengthy interview with the Washington ExaminerWednesday, the former Arkansas governor let loose on Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, the trio of outsiders currently leading the Republican field. He wondered why voters would want an "honest to God amateur" taking over the White House.

Huckabee, now 11th in theExaminer's presidentialpower rankings, also called it "ridiculous" that the main qualification to become the GOP nominee is a "I have no idea what I'm getting into" type of mindset.

"I mean, Scott Walker was fresh and he didn't make it. He was very fresh," Huckabee said when asked if he was worried being a considered "retread" or a "stale" candidate could hurt him in the current race. "He was going to be the guy to save the day, and in the end it didn't work. It's hard to gauge exactly what it is that people are looking for."

"I don't think that it's a disqualifier to say, 'You know, I've had some experience.' I mean, I can't imagine somebody would allow a doctor to do surgery on them who had zero experience and, in fact, had never been to medical school," Huckabee said. "I can't imagine that somebody would let them pilot the airplane they're in if they've never been in the cockpit, but have played some video games and that's their only experience."

"If you look at all the ways in which one qualifies for any job in this country, this would be the first time in history that people would say, 'Yeah, we're looking to hire you for a job, but the more capable, experienced and competent you are, the less we're likely to hire you. We want to hire someone who has never ever done this job, who has never done anything like this job, is completely unprepared for what they're about to take place. We want a true, honest to God amatuer stepping into the Oval Office and being the leader of the free world,'" Huckabee continued. "Think about how irrational that is put in that context."

Huckabee told theWashington Examiner this applies to journalism too.

"If I was hiring you to work at the Examiner, I would say, 'Where have you worked? Can you show me some of your writing samples? Can you tell me some of the people you worked with and the stories you've done?'" he said. "I wouldn't say, 'Have you written anything?' And if you said, 'Oh yes, I've written hundreds and hundreds of pieces,' and I'd say, 'Well, we can't use you. We want someone that's never written anything. We want the first thing they write to be for us.' Now that's laughable."
"Think of how ridiculous it is to think that the main qualifier is, 'I have no idea what I'm getting into,'" Huckabee said. "I think people are going to start thinking about that as we get closer to voting."

While Trump, Carson and Fiorina are currently at the top of the heap within the GOP field, Huckabee has fallen back in the pack andcould be in danger of missing out on the CNBC debate on Oct. 28 in Boulder, Colo. Huckabee is currently tied with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for eighth with 3 percent support in the latestRealClearPolitics national polling average, and only attracts 4.3 percent backing in Iowa, where he emerged victorious in the 2008 GOP race.

Stay tuned for the rest of the Examiner's interview with Mike Huckabee.