I guess there was no way that Huckabee could have announced he was not going to run that would have satisfied me, but I did feel that he almost set us up by all but saying he was going to run (I was so excited) to the But.. that reminded me of the Bachelor when he dumps the last girl at the end of the show and wants it to be a surprise! That wasn't done, IMO with sensitivity to all of his loyal supporters that have hung in there with him for 3 yrs. It was done for the general audience and for ratings....That hurts...

I hope you are not LOLing at me. I only said that because several people on here have talked about it and I found it odd that Hannity wouldn't have thought of it also and asked Mike. It seems to me like something Hannity would say, maybe even as a subtle putdown. I think it would be odd to have the king candidate as second fiddle to the prince or princess, but Hannity wouldn't have thought of Mike as the superior candidate. I have already accepted Mike at his word and am not going to get my hopes up by him basically saying "never say never". If things do change at some point down the road and he gets back in, I will be there to support him, because there is no one even close to Mike, and probably never will be, as far as I'm concerned.

Mike told both Chris Wallace and Sean Hannity that there were two versions of the clip made. One for entering the race, one for bowing out. Nobody (including Trump) knew which tape would be played, outside of Roger Ailes, until moments before. So Mike evidently knew about it. Mike has a great sense of humor, and personally, I wasn't offended at it. I'm not saying I laughed my head off either, but it is what it is. I do have to say that I chuckled when the Donald made his announcement this morning, though. The guy is as shallow and fleeting as an Arizona rain puddle.

Interesting. This whole thing might have been about a deadline from FOX. (I.e. FOX says decide by mid May.) And, Huckabee may have been literally serious about not deciding until summer. And so, Huckabee was saying, 'if I have to decide now, then the answer is no.' That is, the answer was no to having his hand forced. But, if he does get peace in the season that he first anticipated he would know, then he could reverse himself for the very reason that he decided no at this point in time.

We do this all the time. If a car salesman says, 'you have to decide today if you want this car in order to get the deal I'm offering'. Some would rashly buy the car. But many would say, 'if I have to decide today, then I don't want the car.'

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'If you drive God out of the world then you create a howling wilderness' --Peter Hitchens

Keep us going with your wit, Southern Doc. Don't know why but the tears are starting again. Just when I think they're over. Florida. I think it would be Huckabee's. Deep breath. I think it may be in a future race, too.

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Video from last nights interview
part 1:



Part 2:

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Sherri Eaton
Caney, Kansas

I think Sean Hannity has come a long way since 2008 on accepting GH into his personal "circle".

He has gotten enormous pressure from Mark Levin publicly and I would assume from Rush Limbaugh quietly on accepting Mike.

Of the talking heads and talking hosts Sean is one of the few who:

1. Lets the Governor talk and doesn't interupt.
2. Actually ponders what Mike has said (not some twisted version that only Mark Levin hears ... ) (btw I want to say other things about Mark Levin but this is a G forum)
3. Actually acknowleges he was in the running (not like Rush Limbaugh)
4. Seems to genuinely enjoy his company.

I think he had a Luke 23:47 moment sometime in the last 3 years.

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I have my tin foil hat on, wearing it proudly, and will take it off on Inauguration Day 2017.

"If there was hope, it must lie in the proles..." George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

I agree that Sean likes him on personal level. Sean is a good guy. The kinda guy you'd want to watch the game with. But, on a political level he would rarely mention Mike when he was talking about candidates. And, that seems inexplicable.

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'If you drive God out of the world then you create a howling wilderness' --Peter Hitchens

Yeah, I'm glad Mike mentioned that most commentators ridiculously left him out in 2012 discussions in his announcement. I felt like he was speaking directly to Hannity because I always noticed he was the worst of them all in leaving Huck out.

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THE TIMES are nightfall, look, their light grows less;
The times are winter, watch, a world undone:
They waste, they wither worse; they as they run
Or bring more or more blazon man’s distress.
And I not help. Nor word now of success:
All is from wreck, here, there, to rescue one—
Work which to see scarce so much as begun
Makes welcome death, does dear forgetfulness.
Or what is else? There is your world within.
There rid the dragons, root out there the sin.
Your will is law in that small commonweal…
G.M. Hopkins.

I think FOX was in new ground with FEC laws and had to be very careful. How many of their talk show hosts (or any talk show host ) has ever polled in the top tier? They could not come across as promoting their own candidate.

I will give him a pass on this for this reason (even though Cavuto and Rivera always promoted him). I can not find any excuse though for Rush Limbaugh's refusal to accept him and Mark Levin's complete hatred for Mike.

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I have my tin foil hat on, wearing it proudly, and will take it off on Inauguration Day 2017.

"If there was hope, it must lie in the proles..." George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

As to Levin's hatred for Mike: the one time I listened to his show, he was yelling at a caller and said something along the lines of, "Turn the other cheek? I'm not one of those," i.e. I'm not one of those Christians. That to me seems like the language of one who resents Christianity on some level.

So, it might be Mike's being a southern Baptist minister.

_________________
THE TIMES are nightfall, look, their light grows less;
The times are winter, watch, a world undone:
They waste, they wither worse; they as they run
Or bring more or more blazon man’s distress.
And I not help. Nor word now of success:
All is from wreck, here, there, to rescue one—
Work which to see scarce so much as begun
Makes welcome death, does dear forgetfulness.
Or what is else? There is your world within.
There rid the dragons, root out there the sin.
Your will is law in that small commonweal…
G.M. Hopkins.

Hannity has always been gracious to Huckabee when he was no longer perceived as a political threat. I don't think Hannity likes him much past his utility as a ratings attracting guest. He's about as two-faced as it comes.

Full disclosure: I resented Hannity for his hypocritical profession of the Catholic faith and his deliberate attempt at public humiliation of Fr. Euteneuer on his show even before I resented him for his treatment of Huckabee in 2008 up to this point. I will probably continue to view him with something akin to antipathy until he publicly repents and flagellates himself in the public square - or allows me to do so.

The thing I took away from this interview was that it seems like Mike has had 200 pounds lifted off of his shoulders. I haven't seen Mike so happy and laughing in a while.

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Brett

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Agreed on all counts. I know of at least two statements/situations that indicate Sean needs some adult catechesis. Let's pray that that Fr Morris he has on his show sometimes can get to him off-stage or something.

_________________
THE TIMES are nightfall, look, their light grows less;
The times are winter, watch, a world undone:
They waste, they wither worse; they as they run
Or bring more or more blazon man’s distress.
And I not help. Nor word now of success:
All is from wreck, here, there, to rescue one—
Work which to see scarce so much as begun
Makes welcome death, does dear forgetfulness.
Or what is else? There is your world within.
There rid the dragons, root out there the sin.
Your will is law in that small commonweal…
G.M. Hopkins.

Is it possible that the reason Hannity left out Mike's name is because he has known (or thought he knew) all along that Mike would choose FOX over another presidential run? Just sayin'....I heard Hannity say on more than one occasion that he didn't believe Huckabee would run and he was right.

Mike has stated that he thought he would be in the race until just recently. To me, that means...... that Mike thought he would be in the race until just recently. I don't question his honesty and I certainly don't question his integrity. (However, I would question Hannity's - afterall, he did lie about Mike pulling out of Florida).

From all of the interviews, it sounded like Mike went back and forth a couple of times on his decision in the past, but most recently honestly thought he would be running for President until he felt peace with God's direction that he not, just a few days before announcing. I doubt very much that Mike told Hannity all along that he wasn't going to run even while trying to decide himself - therefore, Hannity didn't "know". Hannity may have thought he wasn't going to run, just like many others who guessed one way or the other, but even Mike wasn't sure what he was going to do. Those who guessed he would, guessed wrong (I would be in this group). Those he guessed he wouldn't, guessed right.

It wasn't a game; it wasn't some kind of scheme; it wasn't Fox forcing a decision. It was prayerful consideration and seeking a clear direction of a very important decision. Upon feeling a peace that God had given him that direction that he was seeking, Mike let us know by announcing on his show, just as he said all along that he would. It was earlier than he thought he would announce, but I think he thought he would be making an announcement that he was "in" and felt like summer was soon enough or wanted to give himself that time to receive a clear answer. When he realized it was a "no", he didn't want to string people along and get their hopes up, plus he wanted to free them up to move on, so he announced earlier than he had originally planned.

Iowa for Huckabee, I totally agree with your statement:



I remember when I had my first child. I had it all lined up that I would go back to work and job share with someone. But after I had my daughter, I went back and forth during my whole maternity leave. One day I felt good about going back to work and the next day I would be against it. I went ahead and looked into childcare and had a few prospective places lined up. Once I finally made the decision to stay home, I went in right away to work to tell them, so they could line someone else up to job share with that other person. I too felt at peace with my decision and I ended up telling them a few weeks early once I knew for sure.

I think when we have major decisions to make, such as the one Mike Huckabee made, we do go back and forth until we make that final choice. Obviously Huckabee had to start lining things up in order to make that decision. Of course people around him thought they knew what he was going to do. But in the end, Huckabee did what was right for him and his family.

In the years to come, I am sure that Huckabee will say it was the best decision he ever made. Just like me.

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ConservTexan

http://ilikemikehuckabee2012.blogspot.com/

Wisely said. A right decision does not have to be easy. But it will bring peace and the ability to lay one's head down in peace and sleep.

Remember on Hannity that Huckabee said his emotions are still raw. I would not be surprised but that he shed a few tears over the loss of what might have been. He probably agonized, knowing how he would disappoint so many supporters. That made it a hard decision. But God's voice was louder, as it should have been, and because Mike's ears were attuned to someone and something higher, the other things were drowned out. I'm sure that God did not lay out the entire four-year plan for him, either. He will have to walk by faith. And I am sure he expects to do so.

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