Politics | Mike Huckabee No More Mr. Nice Huck Republican Huckabee takes on new post-election life By Kevin Spak Posted Nov 25, 2008 3:40 PM CST Copied In this Jan. 3, 2008, file photo, then Republican presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, speaks early on caucus day during a campaign stop in Grinnell, Iowa. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) The post-election, book-peddling Mike Huckabee is folksy and affable as ever, but he's no longer pulling his punches when it comes to his party's run at the presidency: If he’d been the nominee, the election “would’ve been very different,” Huckabee tells Lauren Collins in the New Yorker. “I would’ve campaigned that the economy was headed toward meltdown. I was saying this back when I was getting laughed at by the Wall Street Journal.” Huckabee’s likewise miffed his VP candidacy evaporated, while Sarah Palin, with similar views and experience, was chosen. "It was like they suddenly decided that everything they disliked about me was OK. She was given a pass by some of the very people who said I wasn’t prepared.” Huckabee doesn't skimp on opinions, from Beyonce (“amazing”) to pre-nups (“horrible”). Just don’t ask him about 2012. “For gosh sake,” he says, “just give it a rest, please!” Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Iran's supreme leader makes first public comments since ceasefire. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Report an error