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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
When Governor Mike Huckabee entered the Republican presidential race, he was the ultimate dark horse, with almost no money, no consultants, and no name recognition beyond Arkansas. The so-called experts were highly amused by this former small state governor from blue-collar roots who also played bass in a rock band. He wouldnt have a prayer against the well-connected and financially wired pros like Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson.

But Huckabee had one big advantage: a common sense message that connected with millions of people, and not just his fellow evangelical Christians. He spoke about family values, fair taxes, and helping hard-working, middle-class Americans in a tough economy. And to the dismay of some Republicans, he talked about fighting Wall Street greed and K Street corruption.

Huckabee shocked the country by winning the all-important Iowa caucuses and seven other states, while spending far less than the other major candidates. He created an army of passionate volunteers and small donors, transforming his campaign into a true movement that will endure long after Election Day.

Do The Right Thing is Huckabees amazing story, in his own wordsfrom making commercials with Chuck Norris to meeting a Michigan woman who insisted on donating her wedding ring. But this is more than just a campaign memoir. Its a vision for a smarter, fairer type of politicsvertical politicsthat focuses on common sense solutions for education, health care, the economy, and many other issues. Its not about right versus left; its about taking America up rather than down.
Huckabee also shows how the Republican Party can heal its divisionsbetween social and fiscal conservatives, the wealthy and the middle class, the religious and the secularand become a true majority party again.

Customer Reviews: Read 43 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book January 7, 2009
It is never easy to be objective in reviewing a book when its contents are about topics you fully agree with. However, I believe that the most important contribution relies in outlining openly many ideas I believe many people share, but sometimes are afraid to declare openly. Take for example the difference between being Democratic or Republican, very well described as the difference between someone who wants big Gov vs someone that on the contrary wants the freedom to be self-Gov'ed. That wonderful parallel in my opinion should encourage shy right wing oriented voters who are not usually confident in being active and open in their political faith for the fear to appear selfish to the public eyes, as opposed to many traditional left wing voters that paternalistically and pompously often speak about their altruistic attitude towards people in need of something. Being individualistic does not mean being selfish. This concept is according to me what represents the main issue around which the whole book is developed. In fact, it appears through the reading of the chapters that many times the most individualistic people are after all those who mostly bring common sense to the society, thanks to their superior sense of individual responsibility. Therefore, by not deferring on others for the solutions of their problems, they are those that actually and ultimately contribute mostly to a good and morally healthy society. Also, I believe that the chapter about Veterans is very touching.
In particular, having myself an economic background, I really appreciated the chapter about FairTax (it could only be the tenth to remind of the tithe that each good Evangelical pays to his/her Church!), since that idea, if really applied to the real world, could solve several problems in raising fair taxes, and I do apologize for the word game.
Finally, if I really have to write a critique to the book I would really like to know how duck hunting can be compared to a religious experience, since I would find it much more religious to hunt people I believe that deserve to be punished for their evil actions, as an extreme application of self-Gov'ed! However, I think that it would be too much a Chuck Norris thing and too little a Christian gesture!

5 out of 5 stars

A Great Book January 6, 2009
I found Mike Huckabee's book "Do the Right Thing" to be inspirational and informative. He does discuss some about his running for President in 2008 but covers more about the basics of what the United States of America is based upon. A great read for those wanting to (and those that don't know) more about the goals of the Founding Fathers. This might even be a suggested reading for high school students.

1 out of 5 stars

huckabee the huckster January 2, 2009
0 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is the latest collection of fairy tales, as told by Mike Huckabee rather than Mother Goose.
He has no depth of thought nor insight into the American political system, nor any truly original ideas.
Intelligence-wise just slightly higher on the scale than Sarah Palin.
Integrity-wise a cut or two above Jesse Jackson Sr.

5 out of 5 stars

A real eyeopener on political campaigns and debates December 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Mike Huckabee's "Do the Right Thing" was a real eyeopener for me revealing a behind the scenes peek at how the the presidential debates are put together, how his campaign ran on a shoestring against formidable odds, and how to get this country back on the right track. If anyone feels this country is headed in the wrong direction with billions of dollars in bailouts, etc., you need to read this book.

2 out of 5 stars

A Book of Hit or Miss December 31, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Aside: I think this book is 2.5 stars not 3.

Mike Huckabee is a man of integrity and principle. For this there is no doubt. As a libertarian I supported his primary run in 2008, but would I support him again? Tough question, but I would definitely give him strong consideration.

Do the Right Thing is an interesting political piece covering Mike Huckabee's run for the Republican Presidential nomination, his political beliefs, and the movement that is the title of his book. The book starts off rather slow and does not really grab the readers attention until the third chapter when he lays out his beliefs on being pro-life and stem cell research. Being a former pastor his beliefs are of no surprise.

He continues on to cover many topics from taxation to health care, the fighting in Washington, the inequitable coverage of the media amongst candidates who have minimal resources (something he calls Elections by eBay), and groups of people who have been estranged from both political parties. Perhaps the most important chapter in the book is his writings on the FairTax and how it will help remedy the current economic lull, the increasing number of outsourced jobs, inequitable taxation, and the punishment that is incurred for working harder or investing/saving in a fiscally responsible manner. He accurately describes how the current tax system rewards negative manners of individuals while penalizing positive actions. As a supporter of the FairTax I am happy to see a major party Presidential candidate endorse the issue.

A point of criticism I will offer is his understanding of libertarianism, which he labels as faux-conservatives. As a supporter of Ronald Regan I am perplexed that Huckabee fails to mention that Regan stated as I paraphrase here that libertarianism is at the heart of conservatism. He misguides readers to believe that libertarians live only for themselves and do not help others. Libertarians much like conservatives believe that charity is the duty of individuals and not government. Huckabee completely misses this point.

The truth is quite the contrary as a libertarian society recognizes the generosity of people as a necessary requirement for the reduction of government intrusion into individuals lives. Huckabee did hit on this point clearly and correctly titled his book "Doing the Right Thing." When people do the right thing government actions can be reduced. He main contention with libertarians is clearly more on social issues such as abortion, prostitution, the war on drugs, and marriage. Once again his history as a pastor is clearly displayed as he supports government regulation on what are moral issues. He is very much a social conservative.

Other points of criticism include his foreign policy preferences in dealing with China as he supports a more hawkish policy to deal with trade imbalances and their undervalued currency. Though he stated little on this issue, he would be more aggressive with China diplomatically on economic issues and would strongly consider adding tariffs to Chinese goods, which would have a strong negative impact on a very fragile country. A China collapse would be possible leading to a large economic collapse.

One other theme Huckabee describes in detail is what he calls getting vertical instead of horizontal. He accurately portrays that the majority of Americans care less about political ideology and more about fixing the problems. Americans are tired of fighting between political factions and simply want solutions to be brought about. He gives a vivid example of this when as a governor Huckabee and the governor of Virginia brought forth a program of bipartisan support from all 50 governors to the Senate to reform Medicaid. The measure failed and he received lectures from Teddy Kennedy and others about the cruelty of poverty. Apparently this group of Senators failed to recognize that Huckabee grew up in poverty conditions. Instead of focusing on solutions leaders from both sides seem more concerned with left and right instead of going vertical (working to solve problems instead of the usual partisan divisions).

Huckabee's book is filled with stories and examples from his life. If you know little about him this book will clearly help. His anecdotes give an insight into his life, high moral character, and firm principles.

Do the Right Thing is really a hit or miss book. Parts are exceptional and others are downright bad.

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