Old, Dead, Irrelevant ITL (Do not use)

[Leinad]

If you're still accepting sign-ups, I'll claim Huckabee.

(Also, theoretically, if someone else comes in who completely has their heart set on Pataki, could they run as Ghost Pataki, and break a barrier in becoming the 1st ghost president? But I suppose that's quote the tangent...)

[Leinad]

Huckabee cheerfully greeted his supporters on the day of his announcement.

Hope, Arkansas - Today, former Arkansas Governor, 2008 Presidential candidate, and TV show host Mike Huckabee announced his campaign for President here in 2016.

"Thank you for coming here! I've thought and prayed about this, and I've came to a decision: I'm announcing my candidacy for President of the United States of America!

"I was born here in Hope, Arkansas, and now I've came back to try and help a country that has seemingly lost all hope. People are tired of politics as usual. This inside-the-beltway thinking that favors the Washington elites--big government, big lobbyists, big labor, and even big business--over the rest of us. Americans don't want someone because of who they know, or how much money they have, or, well, their last name.

"Americans want someone who can offer common-sense solutions to our nation's problems. Americans want someone who turns to God, not government, to offer these solutions.

Huckabee outlined his views on several issues, positioning himself as an outside-the-beltway alternative to Washington elites.

"And we need solutions. The moral decline of America has reached a new low. The gay agenda is threatening religious freedom, the very thing this nation was founded upon. Drugs are being legalized across the nation. Unborn children are being killed in the womb. Our borders have been opened by irresponsible leadership. Foreign dictators in Iran and Cuba are being rewarded, while our greatest ally, Israel, is being abandoned. The hard-earned money of American citizens is being negotiated away in secretive trade-deals, and maybe even cuts to social security.

"America needs someone who can offer common sense solutions to those problems, and I think I'm the best candidate for the job. We don't need another member of the Washington ruling class that got us into this mess--do you really think they can be trusted to get us out of it?

"Maybe I've never been in the Senate. And maybe I'm not a member of a well-known political family. But I have experience in leadership, as the governor of the great state of Arkansas. The Washington elites have experience causing problems, but I have experience solving them.

"Thank you, and God Bless America!"

After the speech, Huckabee played a couple songs on his guitar.

[Leinad]

Statement from Mike Huckabee

"This is a sad day for me, as George and Libby Pataki, two people me and Janet are honored to have called friends, are no longer with us. Our prayers are with their family in this difficult time. I admire George's vision of an America with strong leadership, and will now try even harder to make that vision a reality."

[Leinad]

Yeah, I'm hyped about this!

Obviously I'd rather win myself, but part of me wants to see Trump vs. Gates. Just for the fun of it.

[Leinad]

Mike Huckabee's turn:

Total points: 21 (18 for the speech + 3 for the Pataki memorial)

5 PCP - Texas

3 PCP - Tennessee

3 PCP - Missouri

3 PCP - Alabama

2 PCP - Louisiana

2 PCP - Oklahoma

2 PCP - Mississippi

1 PCP - Arkansas

This all works out, right?

Also, just to confirm, all the primaries will be at the same time, right? So we shouldn't be focusing everything on Iowa/NH/SC?

[Leinad]

Huckabee on the campaign trail.

Statement from the Huckabee campaign:

"Before I discuss my campaign plans, I must offer my sympathies to both the Walker and Santorum families, who are dealing with personal difficulties right now. Me and Janet will keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and it is my hope that God can lead them through these trying times."

Huckabee campaign schedule:

-Little Rock, Arkansas
-Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
-Tulsa, Oklahoma
-Kansas City, Missouri
-Springfield, Missouri
-St. Louis, Missouri
-Memphis, Tennessee
-Nashville, Tennessee
-Chattanooga, Tennessee
-Birmingham, Alabama
-Huntsville, Alabama
-Mobile, Alabama
-Jackson, Mississippi
-Tupelo, Mississippi
-New Orleans, Louisiana
-Baton Rouge, Louisiana
-Houston, Texas
-San Antonio, Texas
-Austin, Texas
-El Paso, Texas
-Dallas, Texas

"I look forward to meeting with many friends old and new, and hopefully I can tell as many people as possible of my vision for strong leadership in America."

Governor Huckabee will travel the entire barnstorming tour in his new campaign bus, nicknamed "the HuckaBus," made by Tucker Transportation, a local business in Arkansas.

[Leinad]

I'm for the new format, though the old one was promising.

What he said.

I certainly like the idea of us being able to do a speech or two a turn to get extra points.