Ark. Gov. Huckabee Welcomes Hispanics

Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday the nation is being given a chance to make up for past racism by the way it handles the influx of Hispanics.

Huckabee, a Republican who is considering a run for president in 2008, said Arkansas has made progress on racial justice and has a fresh opportunity to do the right thing in the way it welcomes the growing Hispanic population.

“One of the great challenges facing us is that we do not commit the same mistakes with our growing Hispanic population that we did with African Americans 150 years ago and beyond. We’re still paying the price for the pathetic manner in which this country handled that,” Huckabee said at a meeting of the Political Animals Club in Little Rock. The club meets monthly to hear from political figures and experts.

“I think, frankly, the Lord is giving us a second chance to do better than we did before,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee said he will announce after he leaves office Jan. 9 whether he will run for president. He said he is not posturing for the vice presidential nomination.

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