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TechnoratiFormer Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee still wants to be elected this fall, that is, as John McCain’s vice president.
In an appearance Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Huckabee praised the Republican nominee-in-waiting and said “there’s no one I would rather be on a ticket with than John McCain,” according to Fox News.
The pitch was the first high-profile public event where Huckabee explicitly stated his enthusiasm for the number two spot on the Republican ticket. He noted, however, that McCain needs to ultimately decide what is best for him, but he would support him no matter what the outcome of his decision.
"[W]hether or not I do the best for him, that's something that only he can decide," Huckabee, 52, said, according to Agence France-Presse.
"I'm going to support him because I think he's the right person for America. I think he has the kind of seasoning and maturity that this country needs."
Huckabee, however, did point out that during the campaign when they were rivals, “there was no one who was more complimentary” of McCain than himself, according AFP.
During the Republican contests, Huckabee was a stronger than expected challenger against McCain. He won the Iowa caucuses on a shoestring campaign and caught the nation by surprise.
A major reason for his wins has been his popularity among evangelicals. Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, attracted homeschoolers, young evangelicals, the working class, and others and could bring these constituencies to support McCain in the fall.
Huckabee dropped out of the race in March after McCain secured the needed delegate count to be the Republican nominee.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, another ex-Republican nominee hopeful, has also expressed interest in being McCain’s running mate. But during the campaign season the two traded barbs and had a less friendly competition compared to the one with Huckabee.
McCain, 71, has insisted that his vice presidential search committee is still in the “initial stages” of picking who his running mate will be. Popular vice presidential picks for McCain are Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Ohio congressman, and Bush administration budget director Rob Portman, and Romney, according to Fox News.
