SUNLIT UPLANDS: Republican Presidential Nomination

From the Daily Telegraph

In an exclusive interview, the former preacher tells Tim Shipman why he is gaining fast in the Republican race for the White House

He was born in the small town of Hope, Arkansas, and overcame poverty to become governor of his native state before launching a bid for the White House. He is a charismatic speaker and a musician who has played with some of America's most famous artists.

But this is not Bill Clinton, who put Hope on the map in 1992 with a little help from his Saxophone, but Mike Huckabee, the man whom the former president believes may prove the most formidable opponent for his wife Hillary in the race for the White House.

Mr Clinton recently called his fellow Arkansan "the best speaker" among the Republican candidates.

Now conservative Republicans, dissatisfied with the leading candidates, are increasingly looking to Mr Huckabee as the man to take on Mrs Clinton.

While he still only ranks fifth in national polls, surveys last week in Iowa, the scene of the first test of voter opinion on January 3, put him a close third to Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. He leads the field among Republicans who say they have definitely made up their minds.

Speaking between campaign events in New Hampshire, Mr Huckabee deployed his quick wit — honed as an ordained Baptist preacher — to skewer his Republican rivals, paint himself as the one true conservative in the race and denounce the takeover of American politics by the Clinton and Bush families. He said: "Unlike my opponents', my support has only ever increased. We're going to catch them and pass them. The polls are stunning."

Dan Bartlett, who quit last month as President George W Bush's White House counsellor, described Mr Huckabee as the "most articulate, visionary candidate" – but said he could not win because of his unusual surname.

Mr. Huckabee, 52, hit back, saying: "That showed the kind of condescending arrogance that people are so tired of. Do we really want potentially 28 years with only two families occupying the White House? We broke away from your King George because we were tired of one family telling us what to do."

Trim and animated, he fires out pointed remarks and jokes in the time it takes many Southerners to get out a sentence.

Before entering politics, he held several positions as a Baptist minister and served as president of a religious television channel. He and his wife Janet have three adult children, and he plays bass guitar for his band, Capitol Offence, which has played at two presidential inauguration balls and opened for Willie Nelson.

In the past week, the stars in the political firmament have begun to align for Mr Huckabee.

Christian Conservatives – who dislike the pro-abortion frontrunner Rudy Giuliani and distrust Mitt Romney, who converted late to the pro-life cause – have threatened to run an independent candidate unless the Republicans pick a pro-life figure such as Mr Huckabee. On Friday, Senator Sam Brownback, with whom he had been vying for evangelical votes, dropped out of the race.

In a withering assault on Mr Romney, Mr Huckabee said: "Sometimes I think people are auditioning to be the conservative American Idol contestant. They're good at lip synching. I'm not sure that they are singing their own true song."

Mr Huckabee, strongly tipped as a possible vice-presidential running mate to Mr Giuliani if he does not win the nomination himself, is noticeably warmer towards the former New York mayor. "I don't believe a pro-choice candidate can win the nomination but he's run a very smart campaign. Rudy hasn't pretended to be something he isn't."

Mr Huckabee may share Mr Bush's faith but, unlike the President, he has not said that God asked him to run for office. "The last time I checked, God was not registered to vote," he says.

He is also highly critical of the Iraq war, comparing Mr Bush's foreign policy to the behaviour of "that kid at school who was good at everything" but instead of helping others, "rubbed peoples' faces in it. People resent the US, not because we are a superpower, but because we acted like one".

He said he had "a great love, admiration and respect for Great Britain" and regarded the US as "extraordinarily blessed" to have had its friendship.

Mr Huckabee, Arkansas governor from 1996 to last January, may be a long shot but he is used to adversity, having battled to lose weight after he was warned that obesity would kill him (the subject of his book, Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork). He says losing 110lb taught him "that discipline and patience and perseverance get you to the finish line".

Many think he could still win. Newt Gingrich, the former House of Representatives speaker, says: "Huckabee is very effective, and if he can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight."

THE JOKER IN THE REPUBLICAN PACK

On his band, capitol offence: "We're playing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens played their last concert. I will not be flying out that evening."

On health care: "Baby boomers retiring are going to cause a crisis for health care. Can you imagine what it will cost when all the hippies find out that seniors get free drugs?"

On arkansas: "I heard a man was telling a joke about a politician from Arkansas. I told him: 'You won't believe this, but I am a politician from Arkansas.' He said to me: 'Don't worry son, I'll tell it real slow.'?"

On his poor upbringing: "We only had this lava soap [which contains pumice stone]. I was in college before I realised a shower wasn't supposed to hurt."