Posted on 01/02/2008 8:38:10 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee traded jokes with Jay Leno and played bass guitar with the "Tonight Show" band on Wednesday, the eve of the Iowa caucuses he hopes to win.
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton also made a cameo appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show" as the funnymen returned to work for the first time since their writers went on strike two months go.
The visits broke some of the tension surrounding the nominating contests that begin Thursday with the Iowa caucuses. Clinton and Huckabee are in tight races, she with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and he with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Huckabee told stories about his hardscrabble upbringing, including that it took his parents a year to pay for a $99 guitar they bought him for Christmas in 1966.
"It was a big sacrifice for them, but I played that guitar until my fingers nearly bled, and until their ears nearly bled," he said. "And they said, 'Son, why don't you become a minister?'"
He went on to become a Baptist minister, then was elected Arkansas governor.
Clinton opened Letterman's show with a taped greeting: "Dave has been off the air for eight long weeks because of the writers strike. Tonight, he's back. Oh, well, all good things come to an end," she said.
Huckabee had to cross a picket line to appear on Leno's show, despite earlier saying he supported the writers. Picket signs read, "Huckabee is a scab," and, "Huckabee, what would Jesus do?"
Campaigning earlier Wednesday in Iowa, Huckabee said he believed the writers had agreed to allow late-night shows on the air. But only Letterman and fellow CBS host Craig Ferguson struck deals allowing writers to come back to work. Corrected, Huckabee murmured, "Hmmm," and, "Oh."
The writers guild urged him not to cross their picket line after he flew out to California. "Huckabee claims he didn't know," chief union negotiator John Bowman said. "I don't know what that means in terms of trusting him as a future president."
I’ve now heard it was the whole setup, including an amp. In which case, it was real rookie stuff.
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