The American Spectator

The October 24, 2007 article by Quin Hillyer, “A Tale of Two Candidates,” is a biased and complete distortion of the record of Governor Mike Huckabee that needs to be addressed.

It is indeed disappointing — but perhaps telling — that Mr. Hillyer contacted neither the Governor nor the Huckabee for President Campaign for this article. The resurfacing of these old allegations, which have previously been addressed, and the Governor’s surge in recent polling, is also suspect.

Clearly, the facts show that Mr. Hillyer needs to do his homework. The overwhelming majority of ethics complaints filed against Governor Huckabee in the state of Arkansas were regularly dismissed and / or proven to be frivolous.

It is also important to note that many of these complaints were filed by a member of the Arkansas “media.” There was no mention in Mr. Hillyer’s work that these complaints were later dismissed by that same news outlet.

The REAL story is that, despite the many attempts, there has never been a finding that Governor Huckabee ever received an illegal gift. Period.

To attack Governor Huckabee’s wife, Janet, is the worst kind of journalism. As First Lady of Arkansas, Mrs. Huckabee served with dignity for many years. She was a leader behind the scenes during natural disasters within the state — and her support of education and children is second to none.

With regards to attacking his fiscal record as Governor, what “think-tanks” such as CATO or Club for Growth consistently fail to recognize is that, regardless of party or politics, governors are responsible for delivering better government and balanced budgets to the people they represent. What mattered most to the people of Arkansas is results — not rhetoric — which is why Mike Huckabee was elected and re-elected as Governor.

A fair appraisal of Governor Huckabee’s record reveals that he is an authentic, consistent conservative whose goal is to reduce both taxes and spending when he is President. Here are the facts.

* Regarding his record, Arkansas voters overwhelmingly approved of Mike Huckabee’s performance in office. He was elected to a four-year term as governor in 1998, after succeeding to office in 1996, attracting the largest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas. In 2002, he was re-elected to another four-year term. When he left office earlier this year, his job approval rating was in the high 60s.