December
17 Huckabee's California Moment

Mike Huckabee was in Los Angeles today to appear on "Larry King Live," gain some California media exposure and make his rising poll position pay off: he raised money in Beverly Hills.

Huckabee was barely noticed when he came to Los Angeles in September at a fund-raiser at the Beverly Hills home of real estate magnate Fred Wehba and his wife, Suzi. (The family's holdings include the Watergate in D.C.). So he returned to their home on Green Acres Drive for a noontime event.

Huckabee tried to talk a holiday truce with his opponents, according to the AP.

"I think the country could use a little good will and peace on earth a little more than they can some tit for tat in the political arena," he said at a press conference.

Nevertheless, much of the questions from reporters were to get his response to attacks from rival campaigns. First and foremost was a new ad from Mitt Romney that claims Huckabee issued more than 1,033 pardons and commutations in his decade as governor.

"The difference between us is that I did something he never had to do. I carried out the death penalty 16 times, more than any other governor in my state's history," Huckabee said. "That's hardly soft on crime when you make that tough decision and actually carry it out."