Well, we're back from the Huckabee reception. It was a great night.
The Scene
The fundraiser reception was held in a private home (I don't know whose) in a very nice part of Greensboro. I had been hoping to get there early, but babysitter troubles (Caroline had swim practice) and heavy traffic (have you ever seen a clog because drivers are slowing down to read one of those big message signs over the roadway? That's what happened on the way through downtown Winston, as the sign flashed info about a "fugitive alert") conspired to slow us down, and so we arrived just at 6pm, the scheduled start time. So, I missed the media pow-wow.
We found a (illegal?) parking space a block behind the house, and walked past the media trucks and what we first thought were placard-waving protesters, but they turned out to be supporters of the FairTax. Around to the front lawn where we queue up in the frigid cold, inching forward toward the sign-in table in the home's foyer. A couple of college republican co-eds are welcoming at the front door, and I quip that I had expected to be the youngest folks there. Good to see that we weren't.
It seems we all had arrived around the same time, and so it took a while to get in the house. I wasn't sure how many to expect, but I didn't expect this many folks. We estimated about 250 people were crammed in the main floor area, like a packed-house college party, except with a bunch of old rich folks. After signing in, and paying our "entry fee", we could see Governor Huckabee and his wife Janet in the next room, having photos taken with supporters. That area was choked-full, so we snaked down the hall to enter that room by its other door. That's when we realized that we had unwittingly sidled into the photograph line.
Another long wait, and I wondered what it must be like for the Huckabees to stand there, photo after photo, with the same pose, the same nice true smiles, probably engaging in the exact same small talk. It's nice to meet you. So glad you're here. Keep up the good work. Hang in there. We're praying for you. As we get toward the front of the line, Julie overhears someone remark that you're supposed to have a star on your nametag to get a photo opportunity. We don't, but the photographer and the intern coordinating the line are both young, and so we stand out among our elders, and we are put through. I'm not sure if Julie heard correctly, but even if she did, Mike just won't say no, and they end up taking photos for a very long time.
The Moment
It's our turn! I think I was awake half of last-night thinking through what I'd say if we got to meet Mike. I wanted it to be memorable (avoid the above small talk banalities), but it had to be quick. This is what I said, after the introductions: Let me tell you the story of a young boy named Mike, who was born on August 24th. Sound familiar? That's the start of it. There's more.
The Governor perked up and immediately said, "oh, but what year?" 1965. And then he said, "10 years different. But you know what, 1965, that's the date I was born-again." I was engaged, "really, you were born-again exactly on your 10th birthday?" "Yep, at a vacation bible school." This exchange was face-to-face, eye-to-eye, but we soon drifted into photo poses, side-by-side.
I kept on. And I grew up in small town near the Ark-La-Tex border. Oh yeah, where was that? Terrell, Texas. Yes, I know where that is. Out on I-20. And I went to the largest Baptist college in my state. That's, what? Howard Payne, I forget. No, Baylor. Oh, yes, Baylor, sometimes I forget it's Baptist. Hey now! (yes, I did actually say that, like one frat brother to another).
That's really it, at least all I can recall with detail. We exchanged departing pleasantries, and they were on to the next group of supporters, probably with real stars on their nametags. For another small contribution, I'll be able to purchase that photo, and I will. I might even post it here. I wished later that I had mentioned that I was a Huckabee blogger, but there was no natural place to mention it in our unique exchange. Or it could be just that I froze after getting through my initial lines.
The Speech
After the photo, we finally made it to the food. Pretty much every nook was crowded with people, until we found some breathing room in the kitchen, next to the desserts (of course). Then, we wanted to get back into the open corner of the photo room, where everything was happening, and where I expected Mike to be when he started talking. But we couldn't get through the door without appearing forceful or rude, so we drifted into another open room. It was there that I ran into a guy I had targeted to meet, after researching the bios of the various hosts and sponsors. He had an interesting background, and so I engaged him in conversation about his work, about his writings, about energy independence & the FairTax. Then we heard the applause, so I darted into the hall to get a good spot to hear Mike. He was stationed at the front door in the foyer, and we couldn't get within 10 yards of him, and were stuck in that hall. Fortunately, though, the acoustics were perfectly suited in that hall, and so we could hear it all clearly.
Mike was introduced by an older man whom I couldn't see, but we believe it was Bill Cobey. He called Mike a man of courage, intellect, a true leader, a man of God. Mike opened by saying that it was Bill Cobey who kept encouraging him to run for President, way back before anyone else was thinking that, and thus how all this pretty much started with North Carolina. Most of his subsequent remarks were standard stump speech material that I've heard many times (since I pretty much devour all I can about Huckabee). The lava soap anecdote, etc. Which is not to suggest in any way that it was boring or mundane. The guy is a phenomenal speaker. There's not an ounce of slick in how he comes across. He just takes the floor and weaves through these long paragraphs of passion for America, and what we can do to make it a better country. I almost teared up when he spoke of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. We laughed, we cheered, there were lots of head-nods.
I couldn't do justice to his comments, based merely on my memory. I spent most of the time watching the crowd, looking for signs of resonance. The biggest applause lines were/for:
- "I know how to and did defeat the Bill & Hillary Clinton political machine. 4 times!"
- The FairTax (this one surprised me, especially among a crowd that is mostly in post-income years – this thing must really be catching on)
- Energy independence (good, this is a big one for me too)
Anyone who thinks the Huckabee campaign is merely about Christian conservatives is really missing the boat, and will continue to underestimate Mike.
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