Huckabee Crosses Writers' Picket Line, Praises Obama and Plays Bass On Leno

Mason City, IA (AHN) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee crossed the on-going writer's picket line on the eve of the Iowa caucuses to appear on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. The GOP White House contender played bass and praised presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), saying the first-term senator was the only candidate with whom he had something in common.

"I think they're all sincere... I have a great respect for Barack Obama. I think he's a person who is trying to do in many ways what I hope I'm trying to do and that is to say let's quit what I call 'horizontal politics," Huckabee said. "Everything in this country is not left, right, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican. I think the country is looking for somebody who is vertical, who is thinking, 'Let's take America up and not down."

Responding to a question by Leno on why he showed the press an anti-Romney ad that he had just announced that he did not want to run, Huckabee said the press was "very cynical about it" and that if his campaign hadn't shown it, journalists would have said: "You didn't have an ad. You're just bluffing us."

"If I had really wanted to be disingenuous what I would have done is run the ad for three days and then said, 'Oh, I have a conscience now. I think I'm going to pull it,' " Huckabee added.

Huckabee flew to Los Angeles to tape his appearance on the show on Tuesday, a day after he held an "rather odd" press conference that was supposed to launch a $150,000 ad criticizing his Republican rival former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The news conference ended up being an announcement about the Southern Baptist minister's decision not to engage in negative politics --- that included presenting the full 30-second television spot to reporters.

On his quick rise in the polls, which political observers have attributed to support from Christian evangelicals, Huckabee said he believed voters were looking for a "presidential candidate who reminds them more of the guy they work with rather than the guy that laid them off."

Arriving at the NBC studio, Huckabee was welcomed by signs from picketers saying "Huckabee is a scab" and "Huckabee, what would Jesus do?"

Crossing the picket line has not backfired on Huckabee, even after he made another beginner's mistake of saying he did not think he would be crossing a picket line by appearing on the television show because he believed the writers had agreed to allow late shows back on air.

Only David Letterman has an agreement with members of the Writers Guild of America, who have been on strike since November 5. Jay Leno, together with fellow NBC late show star Conan O'Brien, returned on air on Wednesday without writers because of the risk that the two talk show's nonwriting staff members would get laid off.

As is the usual case for the candidate once considered a long-shot, Huckabee's gift of gab and charm let him slide through the rough patches on his trip to the Leno show. On Monday he was quoted by CBS News as saying: "It's just an incredible opportunity to be there, particularly the very first night he's back from the writer's strike. Besides, if all else fails and this whole process doesn't work out, maybe he needs a sidekick and I'll be auditioning tomorrow."