Huckabee Officially Throws Hat in the Ring

By Brian Faler Bloomberg News

Republican Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who may be best known for his successful fight against obesity, announced Sunday he is running for president.

Huckabee, 51, said he is joining the race for his party’s 2008 presidential nomination in spite of long odds and against better known candidates because he hopes to spur “a revival of our national soul.”

“I think America needs positive, optimistic leadership to turn this country around, to see a revival of our national soul and to reclaim a sense of the greatness of this country that we love,” Huckabee said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Huckabee joins an already burgeoning field of official and unofficial candidates for the party’s nomination, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Democratic candidates include Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

Huckabee begins the race near the back of the pack, barely registering in national polls and facing questions about whether he can raise the tens of millions of dollars needed to run a viable campaign. The first official contest of the nomination race for both parties is less than a year away.

“America loves an underdog,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee, who has said he once weighed about 300 pounds, lost more than 100 pounds after being diagnosed with diabetes in 2003. He later completed four marathon races, including the New York City marathon. He also wrote a popular diet book entitled “Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork.”

(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.