In Iowa, Huckabee is the Man in Demand

by Joy Lin | August 10, 2011

He hasn't endorsed a Republican candidate yet, so Mike Huckabee is proving himself to be an equal-opportunity performer at the Ames straw poll -- scheduled to jam his bass guitar at the booths of Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum Saturday.

Each of them is hoping to pull a repeat of what the Fox News host achieved four years ago at the Ames straw poll. The long-shot candidate's surprise finish -- second behind Mitt Romney -- helped catapult Huckabee from the bottom-tier to the position of frontrunner and ultimately winner of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.

Cain was the first Tuesday to announce that Huckabee would be playing at his straw poll booth, adding that pizza from his former company Godfather's would be distributed to attendees.

"We share many commonalities, including the deepness of our Christian faith and our love of music," Cain said of Huckabee in the press release. "I am humbled by his graciousness to share his musical gifts with me and I hope Iowa voters will enjoy the show.

Shortly afterwards, as if not to be outdone, the daughter of the former Arkansas governor tweeted, "My dad @govmikehuckabee will be playing with Sonicflood and the Nadas @timpawlenty's tent at the Ames Straw Poll on Sat! Very excited!" Sarah Huckabee Sanders is heading up Tim Pawlenty's Ames effort to shore up voters at the straw poll.

A third addition to the Huckabee bandwagon came with Rick Santorum's announcement early Wednesday that Huckabee and his crew would be rocking alongside Buddy Holly's original backup band, "The Crickets," at his tent in Ames.

"If there is anyone who understands traditional family values and Iowa's great political heritage, it is Gov. Huckabee," Santorum said. "I know how much our supporters will enjoy visiting with him and dancing along to his well-known bass playing."

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/ ... man-demand