Huckabee Ponders: Run for President or Stay Rich at Fox News?

Mike Huckabee says in a new RealClearPolitics profile that April 2015 is the cutoff date for him to decide whether he wants to run for president in 2016 and he’s got a lot to think about until then. Like whether saving the country is really worth giving up his Fox News contract.

It’s that age-old question: Stand up for America or cash in with a TV show where you can play your guitar?

Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, ran for the Republican nomination in 2008 but was bested by Sen. John McCain. He says in RCP‘s lengthy profile that he’s better positioned to run again with more name recognition and more support from big money donors.

But then there’s his Fox show, which has been on the air for six years and gives him an outlet to talk until he’s blue in the face or play his guitar until he’s red in the face. The money’s good, too.

It was on that show where Huckabee drew in ratings by teasing a run in 2012 before ultimately announcing (On his show of course!) that he wouldn’t be seeking the White House after all.

The thought of leaving Fox to pursue something as unglamorous as running the country is a major factor:

Huckabee recently inked another three-year deal with the network—a contract that includes a clause allowing either side to terminate the agreement if circumstances change in the coming months.

But for a working-class kid with a gift for gab, Huckabee is living the kind of life he scarcely could have dreamed of while growing up in Hope, Ark.

And nothing quite matches the platform for guaranteed influence and riches that Fox News provides. …

“I’ve got four grandkids, and I really care what’s going to happen to them,” he said. “If I were to create an exploratory committee or tell people that I’m going to run, obviously, I’ve just crossed a threshold, and I’m done [at Fox]. So I’ve got to be very thoughtful about this.

Does Huckabee really want to give up a weekend show where he can tell jokes and slam Democrats just so he can try steering the U.S. to a path he thinks is right and just? He has some serious thinking to do before April.

[Photo via Shutterstock]

— —
>> Follow Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) on Twitter

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.