Top 5, in fact

Mike Huckabee’s new TV ad in Michigan portrays him as an energetic governor with lots of accomplishments in health care, education and tax-cutting. We’ve examined the

education

and

tax-cutting

claims before, so here we’ll examine whether the ad is right when it says

Time

magazine called him “one of America’s best governors.”

Indeed, in November 2005,

Time

featured him in a story headlined “America’s 5 Best Governors.” (The others were Kenny Guinn of Nevada, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Mark Warner of Virginia.)

The article said Huckabee “approached his state’s troubles with energy and innovation” and cited his accomplishments with children’s health care and economic growth. It called him “a mature, consensus-building conservative who earns praise from fellow Evangelicals and, occasionally, liberal Democrats.”

Time

isn’t the only publication to honor him that month.

Governing

magazine (which is owned by the same parent company as PolitiFact) named him one of its “Public Officials of the Year.”

By

Bill Adair

PolitiFact founder

January 10, 2008

Truth-o-meter Ruling

True

Statement

Says Time magazine called him "one of America's best governors."

Context

a TV ad airing in Michigan

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Mike Huckabee

Statement Date

January 10, 2008