Huckabee not stepping out on supporters

Despite John McCain’s strong nomination-bound trajectory, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is in it for the long-haul, campaign manager Ed Rollins told a packed UCI lecture hall Wednesday.

“As Mike has said, he’ll get out when his supporters tell him to get out,” he said. “Right now, it’s just McCain supporters telling him that.”

Rollins spoke to UCI students in a lecture sponsored by the school’s Center for the Study of Democracy, drawing on his experience to speak about the current contest and American political theater more generally, from Ronald Reagan to Huckabee.

While Rollins said he approached the lectern as a “non-partisan” observer for the purposes of the discussion, he touched on the Republican Party’s race, responding to calls for Huckabee to step aside so the GOP can unite behind McCain, who has a near-insurmountable delegate lead.

“I think he’s made a commitment to people that he would stay until McCain or he has 1,191 delegates,” he said in a post-lecture interview. “Obviously the probability is that McCain will get that, but he has given his word to some of his supporters.

“He has issues he feels very strongly about — this is a lot more than just a selection,” he said.

“This is about the future and growth of our party, and these big states — Texas, Ohio — all have the right to hear a different point of view. At the end of the day, there is no better forum for that than a political debate.”

Rollins also spent considerable time discussing what he saw as the major development between 1984, when he led President Reagan’s reelection campaign, and today: the media.

“The difference between 25 years ago and now is the magnitude of the media,” he said. “In those days you had CNN ... even cable was in its infancy. You had the three networks, where I could buy television space and get 80% of Americans.

“Now,” he said, “I’d have to buy 10 times as much to reach that many people.”

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at [email protected].