“I’m as free as a bird now, (HOW ABOUT YOU?)  and this bird you cannot change.

 -Lynyrd  Skynyrd

 Freebird is a song  that defined my teen years.   I’ve heard it a zillion times but I always scream out HOW ABOUT YOU?  a verse too early.

 I scream HOW ABOUT YOU? every time I hear the song.   If I hear Freebird,  I am going to yell HOW ABOUT  YOU? loudly  and slightly off cue.   

 I once yelled HOW ABOUT YOU? In a crowded elevator. I can’t help myself. The song is like a stimulus response test for me.

 Despite a zillion attempts,   I always hit HOW ABOUT YOU? one line early. 

 Mike Huckabee gets the song right.  He plays it on the guitar.   Mike is a former  Arkansas Governor who can rock and roll.

 And might be the next President. 

 I’ve been touting Huckabee for months and wrote a chapter about him in my latest book.   His fight against obesity is inspiring and he seems like a nice guy. 

 On  many  issues, he and I are different.   I don’t like his tax plan and think it would cause economic upheaval.

 Still, I can help but like him.  He is a southern, former fat guy who likes rock and roll.  If I can’t relate to him, I can’t relate to anybody. 

 I try not to cheer as he rises in the polls.   I wrote about him when no one else did.  Now that he is catching on, I feel like someone who bet on a long shot horse.

  Still, I don’t know if I would vote for him.  

 Likeability is an area where people react differently.

 Some people ignore likeability in all decisions. I had a journalist tell me he would do an expose on his mother if he thought it would  be a good story.   He values news   more than any personal connection.

 I meet some who are “checklist voters.”   They have a checklist of issues and vote for whoever hits their litmus test.  The issues, not the person, are more important.

 Others make decisions on shared values.   20 years ago, I was in competition with 14 other  financial planners for an important client.  The man said, “I’m choosing Don because he is a Democrat and others are Republicans.”

 All the numbers and presentations didn’t mean anything to him.  He wanted someone who shared his political ideology. 

 Most of my clients  ignore my politics if I help them make money.

 There are many who make decisions  solely  on likeability.  They do business with friends, neighbors and the coach of their children’s soccer team.   Expertise is not important, relationships are.

 The more important the decision, the more likely people are to look for expertise.  If I ever go in for open heart surgery, I want the best surgeons I can find. I won’t care if they like Freebird.  

 On an office as important as President of the United States, you would think I would be a checklist voter.  I’m not. 

 I like Huckabee because of  shared personal experience.  He lost 100 pounds and  I am trying to. 

 I saw where wrestler Ric Flair endorsed Huckabee.   I’m a huge wrestling fan and once reviewed Flair’s autobiography for the Lexington Herald Leader.

 If Huckabee is a wrestling fan, it will be tougher not to vote for him. Even if  I think Huckabee’s  economic policy would doom the nation. 

 It is easy for me to hope that Huckabee is the Republican nominee.   He is up against  Rudolph Guiliani, who I have  frequently criticized for helping the makers of Oxycontin stay out of jail.

 After reading  letters from the parents of (usually dead) Oxycontin addicts,   I wouldn’t vote for Guiliani if he came and  sang Freebird at my house.

 When November 2008 comes around, I will vote for someone who shares my world view.   If  Huckabee were running against John Edwards, I would vote for Edwards.   I like John  and we  agree on our vision for America.

 I’m not sure if Edwards likes Freebird but I know he is a Mellencamp and Springsteen fan.   That’s good enough for me.

 I want a President who shares my values and appreciation of classic rock is one of them.

 HOW ABOUT YOU?

 Don McNay is the Chairman of McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Ky. . He is  the author of Son of a Son of A Gambler:  Winners, Losers and What To Do When You Win the Lottery.  You can write to him to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read his award winning syndicated column at www.donmcnay.com