Meet the Catholic Campaign Manager of Governor Huckabee

I sort of took the day off from politics yesterday. I went to one my favorite Mardi Gras parades and two Super Bowl parties. Needless to say expect a fury of Huckabee posts since tomorrow is Super Tuesday.

I do enjoy the behind the scenes stuff. I keep track of who is on whose staff and such. I have been impressed with Chip Saltsman for some time. That respect has increased as it has become so evident how far we have come with so little resources. At times I am glad we can still fuel that small jet that takes Governor Huckabee from place to place.

When silly rumors that Huckabee was running an anti Catholic campaign occured I just laughed. Partly because Huckabee is not of that character. But also because of who his campaign manager was as well as his other staff.

So here is a little background piece on the man behind Huckabee. Oh All Alumni of Christian Brothers Schools and SAE Fat Bothers please go out there and vote for Huckabee to help out your brother here.

Tenn is very much in play and we are in the thick of it. I am praying that Mr Saltman's knowledge of the lay of the land helps deliver that State as well as others tomorrow.

CBUer running Huckabee campaign
Ex-Tennessee GOP chair makes national name
WASHINGTON -- Chip Saltsman was instantly a "big fish in a small pond" when he arrived at the Memphis campus of Christian Brothers University in the mid-1980s, a retired Christian brother and confidant recalled recently.

Saltsman, 39, the former Tennessee Republican Party chairman now running former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's national campaign for president, was active in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Knights of Columbus and student government after arriving from a Catholic prep school in Nashville.

"Chip showed a lot of leadership," said Brother Patrick O'Brien, 70, who retired two years ago after 35 years at CBU.In the current CBU alumni magazine Belltower, Saltsman credits O'Brien for teaching him the basics of fund-raising. Saltsman ran the "Senior Drive" in his last year as an undergraduate. He later returned for an MBA."When he left the university, my thought was that he might join the (Christian) brothers or go into the seminary, and I wanted to encourage that," said O'Brien.

"He was still thinking that way but the political opportunity came open and that fit him."His first big race after college was George H.W. Bush's loss to Bill Clinton in 1992. Two years later, he was active in then-West Tennessee Congressman Don Sundquist's successful run for governor. Sundquist brought him to Nashville as an administrative assistant.Saltsman left the governor's office in 1998 to become GOP state chairman and ran the successful George W. Bush effort to beat favorite son and Vice President Al Gore in 2000.

Later, he worked with the National Republican Senatorial Committee.A snuff-dipping confidant of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, whose VOLPAC leadership political action committee Saltsman ran when it looked like Frist was considering an '08 run for president, he is well connected in Tennessee in the run up to Tuesday's GOP primary.

When Frist dropped his presidential bid at the end of 2006, Huckabee took Saltsman on a duck-hunting trip and made the pitch. Saltsman joined the Huckabee effort on Feb. 1, 2007.Frist calls Saltsman "a multi-talented superstar.""He's demonstrated uncanny, remarkable leadership in every endeavor he's undertaken," Frist said.

Some say they were surprised that the snakeskin boots-wearing Saltsman would go to the Huckabee camp."When he signed on, many people scratched their heads and said, 'What's this guy doing?' " Shelby County GOP Chairman Bill Giannini said. "He obviously saw something in Gov. Huckabee and was able to take the very limited tools they had available to them and parlay that into a very, very credible national campaign."Giannini added: "Whatever Huckabee does in the presidential primaries, Chip Saltsman has made a name for himself in national politics and certainly on a presidential campaign."

Jim Steinbrecher, a CBU fraternity brother and Bartlett High School teacher, said he and Saltsman were "starry-eyed freshmen," who tried to start up a campus radio station but learned they couldn't afford it."It was a good lesson in learning, hey, dream big and you never know what's going to happen, and that carries through to the Huckabee campaign," he said."Chip has an unbelievable sense of timing," he added. "And it's not just about schmoozing. It's about getting in and working with these people and for these people."