by Jason Levine

Former governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made an appearance in front of roughly 1,500 people at the Spring Creek campus of the Collin College on Feb. 21 as part of his campaign to win the Texas vote in the March 4 primary.

He began the night with several jokes and exhibited the public speaking ability he gained from his days as a Baptist minister.

His speech to the crowd made no mention of his plans to reform or change the education system, but during a question-and-answer session with the press before his big speech, he mentioned it briefly.

"Community colleges are the single most important thing in education in the last generation," Huckabee said. "Four-year schools are teaching the same courses as they did twenty years ago."

He stated in further explanation that community colleges are rapidly adapting to the changing workplace and for many people, four-year universities are inaccessible and too expensive.

Huckabee centered his speech around a theme of returning America to its moral center, saying he was not running on politics but instead on the principles he and the country believes in.

Huckabee spent much of the night explaining his stance on social issues and detailing his ideas to counter these problems.

He received cheers when he spoke of his human rights amendment he wished to add to the Constitution that would ban abortions, stating that simply overturning the controversial Roe v. Wade decision would only switch the abortion issue from the federal to the state level.

He received further cheers when he stated his policy to create a Constitutional amendment to keep marriage only between a man and a woman.

While he did not talk in detail about his plans for Iraq, he made a point to mention how much he supports the troops fighting there. He promised a Veteran's Bill of Rights, saying that he would go so far as to tear down national monuments to sell for parts if the need arose to pay for veteran care.

His dependence on Texas to keep him in the race was not overshadowed, and he made a firm statement about his belief in the "largest Republican state in the country" to help tell the pundits and other more northern states that he was still in the race.

"It's not over until Texas says it's over. We're going to make some big noise on March 4," Huckabee said. "Let's leave the talking heads speechless!"

The crowd cheered and the rally ended with chants of "We like Mike!"