Count Huckabee In for President in 2012

There's a little story at the end of Mike Huckabee's upcoming political manifesto, Do the Right Thing, that gives us a strong indication that he's planning a presidential repeat in 2012. In the epilogue, Huck writes of how his daughter and political travelmate put a quarter in a toy machine right before the August 2007 Iowa straw poll that boosted his presidential bid. Out popped a capsule with a smiley-face ring. "This is going to be our good luck charm," said campaign manager Chip Saltsman, to whom Sarah gave the ring. A page later, writing about conceding the GOP presidential primaries to Sen. John McCain, Huckabee notes that Saltsman gave the ring back to Sarah with this comment: "Hang on to this. We're going to need it again."

And why not? If most of the 2008 GOP also-rans plan to run again, as well as many governors, then why not the former Arkansas governor? In his book being released this week, Huckabee lays out a conservative populist agenda. "I believe it's time to hit the RESET button on our nation," he writes. "It starts with me, and it starts with you." Part of his agenda is doing exactly what President-elect Obama did: inspire a group of kids who want change, in this case Republican change.

Huckabee's book tour Web page describes the book this way: "Do the Right Thing is his amazing story, in his own words—from making commercials with Chuck Norris to meeting a Michigan woman who insisted on donating her wedding ring. But this is more than just a campaign memoir. It's a vision for a smarter, fairer type of politics—'vertical politics'—that focuses on common-sense solutions for education, health care, the economy, and many other issues. It's not about right versus left; it's about taking America up rather than down."