Huck: Better to be right and not win
Posted: Saturday, February 09, 2008 12:58 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger
WASHINGTON -- Huckabee kept the audience at Conservative Political Action Conference here on its feet this morning, and vowed to stay in the race and not be “echoing the voices of others.”
“It’s better to be right and even not win then it is to be wrong and win,” he said.
What was missing from the speech was some of the veiled attacks against McCain that Huckabee has been uttering in recent days. Huckabee said Friday that Kansas voters should not select a candidate who had a current office in Washington or that was new to conservatism. He said later he was referring not just to McCain but to all of the remaining presidential candidates.
But today, he didn’t mention his opponents to a crowd that many Republicans hope will warm to McCain for the sake of party unity. After the speech, Huckabee said he didn’t repeat his comments about his opponents because he ran out of time. And he acknowledged he had little to lose by staying in the Republican race.
“If this were my first race, I could perhaps be accused of thinking about it in terms of reputation,” he told reporters. “But it isn't. I've been on the ballot time after time after time after time. And I've taken plenty of hits. I've been sued, I've been accused. I've been lampooned, cartooned, and harpooned. Been there, done that.”
Huckabee also said the campaign had raised more than $250,000 online in the last day. “We're just comfortable with where we've gone with the resources we've had,” he said. “The good news is for us, by the way, is that now I think people are believing more than ever and our resources are coming in at a record clip. So if there's any question as to whether well, people assume its over and they're quitting their contributions. Actually, its quite the opposite.”
He gave the crowd a long list of conservative policy ideas, including calling for the impeachment of judges that use international law to justify opinions. He also told them his race was seeking a miracle, noting a “Huckabee for President” lawn sign had recently stayed intact despite a tornado.
“Everywhere there is a vote to be cast, I’m still standing,” he said.
When asked about a possible McCain-Huckabee ticket after the speech, Huckabee acknowledged there had already been one. “My wife's maiden name is McCain,” he said. “Almost 34 years ago, the Huckabee McCain ticket became one -- the Huckabee ticket.”
