MTSU Sidelines

Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Features

Huckabee overstays his welcome at 'SNL'

NEW YORK (AP) - Even though Mike Huckabee is still battling for the Republican presidential nomination despite long odds, he said Saturday he won't "overstay his welcome."

Then he did precisely that, lingering on the "Weekend Update" set of "Saturday Night Live" despite repeated cues to leave the stage.

The former Arkansas governor appeared in a "Weekend Update" segment in which he described his confusion over whether it is mathematically impossible for him to win the nomination over front-runner John McCain. After anchorman Seth Meyers explained the numbers, Huckabee responded: "I'm not a math guy, I'm more of a miracle guy. So at this point I'm gonna focus on the miracle part."

However, he said: "Mike Huckabee does not overstay his welcome. When it's time for me to go, I'll know. And I'll exit out with class and grace."

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Ralph Nader will run for presidency

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ralph Nader on Sunday announced a fresh bid for the White House, criticizing the top contenders as too close to big business and dismissing the possibility that his third-party candidacy could tip the election to Republicans.

The longtime consumer advocate is still loathed by many Democrats who accuse him of costing Al Gore the 2000 election.

Nader said most people are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties due to a prolonged Iraq war and a shaky economy. He also blamed tax and other corporate-friendly policies under the Bush administration that he said have left many lower- and middle-class people in debt.

"You take that framework of people feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized, disrespected," he said. "You go from Iraq, to Palestine/Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bungling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts."

Nader, who turns 74 later this week, announced his candidacy on NBC's "Meet the Press."

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Lobbyist story may damage McCain

WASHINGTON (AP) _ John McCain sought to minimize damage to his man-of-character image and his presidential hopes Thursday, vigorously denying and denouncing a newspaper report suggesting an improper relationship with a female lobbyist.

"It's not true," the likely Republican nominee said of the report that implied a romantic link with telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman and suggested McCain pushed legislation that would have benefited her clients.

"At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust," said McCain, a four-term Arizona senator and a hero of the Vietnam War. He described the lobbyist as a friend.

McCain and his wife, standing together at a news conference, said they were disappointed that The New York Times ran its page one article, and his campaign referred to a "smear campaign" and "gutter politics" in the midst of the presidential race.

The allegations in the Thursday report in the Times - and a story in The Washington Post - contradict core themes of McCain's campaign - that he would bring honor and integrity to the White House as well as a record of changing business-as-usual Washington ways.

Even the suggestion of marital impropriety - though rejected by both McCain and his wife - would seem to risk further damaging his acrimonious relationship with the social conservatives whose support he desperately needs in the general election campaign against a fired-up Democratic Party.

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