Chris Wallace asks Huckabee what the chances are of him running for President in 2012 and while not ruling it out, one of the reasons he cites for not running is enjoying his wingnut welfare on Fox News too much.
WALLACE: Since you -- since you brought up the election cycle, let's end with a little bit of politics, gentlemen.
Governor Huckabee, I want to show you a couple of polls that I suspect you already know about, but let's put them up on the screen.
Seventy percent of Iowa Republicans view you favorably. That is more than any of the other mentioned likely presidential possibilities for 2012. And a national poll of Republicans last month had you in first place -- national poll -- ahead of Romney, and Palin and Gingrich.
So, Governor Huckabee, why wouldn't you run for president in 2012?
HUCKABEE: Well, there's obviously a lot of smart people in Iowa and the rest of the country. Let me acknowledge that. But the reason I wouldn't is because this Fox gig I've got right now, Chris, is really, really wonderful.
And you know, it's easy to say, "Oh, gee, don't you just want to jump back in it?" But jumping into the pool -- you've got to make sure there's some water in it. And there's a whole different deal of saying some folks take a poll and whether there's the financial support.
Howard and I have both been there, done that. It's a wonderful experience. But I am nowhere near ready to say that that's what I want to do three years from now.
WALLACE: So let me ask you a silly question three years out. What do you -- would you say at this moment are the chances that you will run, 50/50, better, worse, what?
HUCKABEE: It's hard to say. A lot of it depends on how the elections turn out next year and whether Roger Ailes continues to like my show on the weekends. And if all those things factor in, you know, it's less likely than more likely, just because I would have to see that the Republicans would be willing to unite behind me.
The last time out, my biggest challenge was with the establishment Republicans who just never showed their support. And while I think a person can possibly win without them, the Republican Party needs to unite if it's going to win in 2012. And anyone who thinks Barack Obama is an easy mark off, just remember Bill Clinton was just labeled politically dead and came back to win a resounding re-election in 1996.
