February 11, 2009 3:29 PM
- Text
One-On-One With Mike Huckabee
(CBS)
On the eve of the country's biggest presidential primary contest, Super Tuesday, the leading presidential candidates spoke with CBS News anchor Katie Couric about what they have yet to overcome. That ranged from assumptions about temperament to lagging support in key states.
The following is the full transcript of Couric's full discussion with former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
KATIE COURIC: Gov. Huckabee, tomorrow is a big day in American politics, Super Tuesday, the closest thing this country has to a national primary. So let me give you the opportunity to tell me what you perceive as your opponents' biggest weaknesses.
MIKE HUCKABEE: Oh, Katie, you know, I think, rather than talk about their weaknesses, there's some differences. And the main difference is I bring more executive experience. And that's what the presidency is all about. It's about making tough decisions and doing it understanding there's nobody else to turn to other than your own conscience … and hopefully the collective experience of having to make tough decisions.
Some of my opponents certainly don't have executive experience to the level that I do. In fact, no one does to the level of ten and a half years of running a state. But I think also it's the clarity of conviction that I bring to this race that I hope will motivate voters to stand with me. They know that what I'm saying today and what I believe today is what I have stood for my whole life. And I think people want a President they can trust, somebody they know, believes deeply in the things that will make America great.
COURIC: So you don't think Mitt Romney has executive experience as working in the business world and governor of Massachusetts?
HUCKABEE: He's certainly got business experience, but government's not a business. It's a different kind of enterprise. You can't order people to do things. You have to motivate them to do it. And particularly if you come from a background, as I did, in a state where it's overwhelmingly Democrat and the legislature more so than he had in even Massachusetts, you have to be able to lead the people.
So the second most important job of being president, other than being commander-in-chief is to be the communicator-in-chief, to be able to sell your ideas. And I think if you look at the fact with a very limited amount of money we've sold our ideas to the American people to be equal with Mitt Romney, who has spent probably 12, 15 times what we did to sell his ideas to the American people.
COURIC: So you believe the biggest weaknesses in your opponent - or you believe the biggest weakness in your opponents is the lack of executive experience?
HUCKABEE: Well, I think in Mr. Romney's case, the biggest weakness is that he's not been consistent on any view, whether it's the Human Life Amendment, whether it's on the Second Amendment, whether it's on traditional marriage, whether it's on taxes, whether it's on just about any issue. He's taken multiple sides.
And that confuses. And I think it also troubles people because - are these positions that he's now holding positions of convenience or conviction? That matters to people. Senator McCain's a great guy. But he's been in the Congress. I think he's had plenty of opportunity to fix some of the problems. Do you want someone in Washington to try to change Washington?
COURIC: What do you need to do tomorrow to keep your candidacy alive?
HUCKABEE: Well, we've gotta be competitive in the South as well as some of these other states. And I think we will be. But I don't see any candidate coming out of tomorrow with 1,191 delegates, which is what's required to secure the nomination. So as long as, you know, there's still a game on, we plan to be in it.
A lot of people counted the New York Giants out and turned out that a lot of folks were gettin' their Boston celebrations ready just a little bit too early. I think for folks who think this primary's over, they need … to be a little careful and cautious about making too many celebration plans for tomorrow night.
COURIC: Having said that, John McCain right now has a pretty significant lead in the polls.
HUCKABEE: You know, he does. And, in fact, polls have fluctuated all over the place. I think the one thing we can probably be assured of is that they're not all that reliable or accurate because they've changed almost daily. We still believe that tomorrow there are a lot of people who are gonna wake up and say, "You know, I think Mike Huckabee has the kind of stamina, he's got the background, the experience, and most of all, he's got clarity in his convictions. There's some authenticity. We want a President that we can trust. We want someone who, when he looks at us and talks to us, we know that he actually believes what he's saying and that he's gonna say it clearly to us and articulate for our country as well as with our country."
COURIC: Finally, Gov. Huckabee, Mitt Romney has suggested you're leaching conservative voters away from him and it might be time for you to step down … and make this a two-man race. What's your reaction to that?
HUCKABEE: Well, I think Mr. Romney is kind of guilty of what we call voter suppression, tryin' to get people to not vote for me rather than to vote for him. It's really unfortunate. I'll tell you the thing that's most troubling.
It's to me arrogant and presumptuous for him to assume that the people who are voting for me would automatically go vote for him. I think he's wrong about that. I think people who vote for me know that they are voting for a person who's consistent on his views and not all over the board and a person who knows what he believes.
You know, if anything, it'd be just as fair for me to say Mr. Romney is taking votes from me. I don't know why people haven't asked him if he's got the audacity to say, "Why don't you step aside and let me have those votes?" Wouldn't it be just as fair for me to say, "Hey, Mr. Romney, why don't you step aside and I'll take those votes from you?"
My enterprise has obviously been more efficient because for … a fraction of the amount of money that you've spent we have about the same market share. I think for that reason anybody with a Harvard MBA ought to know that his business is having a hard time sellin' the soap.
COURIC: Gov. Huckabee, some people think you're really vying for the VP spot. Does that interest you?
HUCKABEE: No. You know, nobody goes out here and works as hard as I have for the past 13 months just to get the second-place prize. So I'm competing for one thing. If people look at my Web site, MikeHuckabee.com, there's not a single thing on there that says, "By the way, Vice-president would be a nice consolation prize."
We're goin' for the gold. We're shootin' for the top. I've always started at the bottom. It's a position I'm familiar with. Wouldn't know how to start from the top. I know how to end at the top.
COURIC: Would you turn down the silver?
HUCKABEE: Wouldn't even talk about it right now because goin' into tomorrow. I still believe we really do have a chance to pull this off.
COURIC: Governor Mike Huckabee, governor, thanks so much.
HUCKABEE: Thank you, Katie.
The following is the full transcript of Couric's full discussion with former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
KATIE COURIC: Gov. Huckabee, tomorrow is a big day in American politics, Super Tuesday, the closest thing this country has to a national primary. So let me give you the opportunity to tell me what you perceive as your opponents' biggest weaknesses.
MIKE HUCKABEE: Oh, Katie, you know, I think, rather than talk about their weaknesses, there's some differences. And the main difference is I bring more executive experience. And that's what the presidency is all about. It's about making tough decisions and doing it understanding there's nobody else to turn to other than your own conscience … and hopefully the collective experience of having to make tough decisions.
Some of my opponents certainly don't have executive experience to the level that I do. In fact, no one does to the level of ten and a half years of running a state. But I think also it's the clarity of conviction that I bring to this race that I hope will motivate voters to stand with me. They know that what I'm saying today and what I believe today is what I have stood for my whole life. And I think people want a President they can trust, somebody they know, believes deeply in the things that will make America great.
COURIC: So you don't think Mitt Romney has executive experience as working in the business world and governor of Massachusetts?
HUCKABEE: He's certainly got business experience, but government's not a business. It's a different kind of enterprise. You can't order people to do things. You have to motivate them to do it. And particularly if you come from a background, as I did, in a state where it's overwhelmingly Democrat and the legislature more so than he had in even Massachusetts, you have to be able to lead the people.
So the second most important job of being president, other than being commander-in-chief is to be the communicator-in-chief, to be able to sell your ideas. And I think if you look at the fact with a very limited amount of money we've sold our ideas to the American people to be equal with Mitt Romney, who has spent probably 12, 15 times what we did to sell his ideas to the American people.
COURIC: So you believe the biggest weaknesses in your opponent - or you believe the biggest weakness in your opponents is the lack of executive experience?
HUCKABEE: Well, I think in Mr. Romney's case, the biggest weakness is that he's not been consistent on any view, whether it's the Human Life Amendment, whether it's on the Second Amendment, whether it's on traditional marriage, whether it's on taxes, whether it's on just about any issue. He's taken multiple sides.
And that confuses. And I think it also troubles people because - are these positions that he's now holding positions of convenience or conviction? That matters to people. Senator McCain's a great guy. But he's been in the Congress. I think he's had plenty of opportunity to fix some of the problems. Do you want someone in Washington to try to change Washington?
COURIC: What do you need to do tomorrow to keep your candidacy alive?
HUCKABEE: Well, we've gotta be competitive in the South as well as some of these other states. And I think we will be. But I don't see any candidate coming out of tomorrow with 1,191 delegates, which is what's required to secure the nomination. So as long as, you know, there's still a game on, we plan to be in it.
A lot of people counted the New York Giants out and turned out that a lot of folks were gettin' their Boston celebrations ready just a little bit too early. I think for folks who think this primary's over, they need … to be a little careful and cautious about making too many celebration plans for tomorrow night.
COURIC: Having said that, John McCain right now has a pretty significant lead in the polls.
HUCKABEE: You know, he does. And, in fact, polls have fluctuated all over the place. I think the one thing we can probably be assured of is that they're not all that reliable or accurate because they've changed almost daily. We still believe that tomorrow there are a lot of people who are gonna wake up and say, "You know, I think Mike Huckabee has the kind of stamina, he's got the background, the experience, and most of all, he's got clarity in his convictions. There's some authenticity. We want a President that we can trust. We want someone who, when he looks at us and talks to us, we know that he actually believes what he's saying and that he's gonna say it clearly to us and articulate for our country as well as with our country."
COURIC: Finally, Gov. Huckabee, Mitt Romney has suggested you're leaching conservative voters away from him and it might be time for you to step down … and make this a two-man race. What's your reaction to that?
HUCKABEE: Well, I think Mr. Romney is kind of guilty of what we call voter suppression, tryin' to get people to not vote for me rather than to vote for him. It's really unfortunate. I'll tell you the thing that's most troubling.
It's to me arrogant and presumptuous for him to assume that the people who are voting for me would automatically go vote for him. I think he's wrong about that. I think people who vote for me know that they are voting for a person who's consistent on his views and not all over the board and a person who knows what he believes.
You know, if anything, it'd be just as fair for me to say Mr. Romney is taking votes from me. I don't know why people haven't asked him if he's got the audacity to say, "Why don't you step aside and let me have those votes?" Wouldn't it be just as fair for me to say, "Hey, Mr. Romney, why don't you step aside and I'll take those votes from you?"
My enterprise has obviously been more efficient because for … a fraction of the amount of money that you've spent we have about the same market share. I think for that reason anybody with a Harvard MBA ought to know that his business is having a hard time sellin' the soap.
COURIC: Gov. Huckabee, some people think you're really vying for the VP spot. Does that interest you?
HUCKABEE: No. You know, nobody goes out here and works as hard as I have for the past 13 months just to get the second-place prize. So I'm competing for one thing. If people look at my Web site, MikeHuckabee.com, there's not a single thing on there that says, "By the way, Vice-president would be a nice consolation prize."
We're goin' for the gold. We're shootin' for the top. I've always started at the bottom. It's a position I'm familiar with. Wouldn't know how to start from the top. I know how to end at the top.
COURIC: Would you turn down the silver?
HUCKABEE: Wouldn't even talk about it right now because goin' into tomorrow. I still believe we really do have a chance to pull this off.
COURIC: Governor Mike Huckabee, governor, thanks so much.
HUCKABEE: Thank you, Katie.
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