Mike Huckabee, born in Hope, Arkansas, just finished his second elected term as governor of his native state. He is keenly aware that another Hope native who governed Arkansas went on to bigger and better things. Huckabee used to be so fat that he could barely walk up the steps to his office. His subsequent diagnosis of diabetes scared teh daylights out of him and he lost over 100 pounds and wrote a book entitled "Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork. As governor he has focused on health issues. As an ordained Baptist minister from the South, he has a leg up on the competition, but as governor, he had to be pragmatic and is not the kind of firebrand many Republicans want. Still, if everyone else falters, he may look increasingly good. If McCain, Giuliani, and Romney falter, Huckabee and Brownback (sometimes contracted to Huckaback) may move to the front of the pack.
There is also some talk of him taking a bid as an independent in the future. This could be bad news for the GOP.