Hucka–who?

Mike Huckabee, who was governor of Arkansas until his term expired earlier this month, announced on this morning’s “Meet the Press” that he is officially entering the race for president. 

So how did Huckabee’s people manage the announcement online? Well, I’m not sure. And that might be an ominous sign for his campaign. I searched for “Mike Huckabee” on Google a few minutes ago and found (third from the top) a link to a somewhat amateurish and independent blog called “Mike Huckabee President 2008.” The first entry on the blog reports that “it has been a big day here at the blog, and now we’re proud to be able to start forwarding our traffic on to the new official Explore Huckabee website…[http://www.explorehuckabee.com/site/PageServer]”

So, apparently, “Explore Huckabee” is the official site. Right?

Well, the problem is that the “Explore Huckabee” Web site doesn’t show up on its own as a link anywhere near the top of a Google search for “Mike Hucakbee”.

Even worse, the portion of the homepage that is viewable to visitors when they first land on the site contains no mention of today’s announcement. Instead, you have to scroll down the page to find a bland letter from the ex-Gov applauding today’s decision. If other visitors to the site are anything like me, they will have clicked on several other links (like “press room”, which, alas, didn’t mention the announcement either) before scrolling down on the homepage to find the letter.     

The media are insisting that a “dark horse” candidate could cause trouble for the leading contenders on both sides, and with McCain and Giuliani’s oh-so-Democratic views on social issues, a Huckabee candidacy might be just what Fans of Pat Robertson are looking for.

But Huckabee better get his online presence in order before all those conservatives to try to find him on the Web.  Even Christians aren’t that patient.