In Iowa, Huckabee Defends Social Security and Attacks Fast Track for Trade

Seven years ago, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee pulled off an underdog, come-from-behind win Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses, powered by evangelical Christians. His return to the state today was studiously low-key and focused almost entirely on economics. Huckabee started his day in the small city of Oskaloosa (pop. 11,568), meeting voters at Smokey Row Coffee Co., talking for a while with local mogul Joe Crookham of Musco Sports Lighting. From there, Huckabee headed to the Clow Valve Company, where a herd of reporters in eye-safety gear filmed his short conversations with workers.

When he turned to face the press, Huckabee accepted a gift from the company's owners—a miniature fire hydrant, in tribute to Huckabee's firefighter dad. "I'm pretty sure that we don't have a place for this, the dogs are going to love it," joked Huckabee, surrounded by employees and fire hydrants on the factory floor. "It's refreshing to see manufacturing alive and well in America. I'll be honest with you. I go to a lot of facilities. I don't see many companies that still take care of things like pensions, health insurance for employees. That's remarkable."