Huckabee, who spent about 40 minutes answering questions put to him by The Journal's editorial board, was critical of the primary process. “It almost becomes more of a chase of money and name identification than it does about leadership qualities to be president,” he said.

“One of the problems that I’ve had with this entire process, if you listen to the first 12 debates, we spent most all of the time arguing over thee issues of Iraq that frankly can’t define the Republicans because there’s not a dime’s difference with all the Republicans with the exception of Ron Paul.

He was scathing about McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, complaining it takes money out of the hands of the individual candidate, and puts it in the hands of the special interests, who can “hide in the trees and aim cheap shots” at people running for office.

“It’s true guerrilla warfare,” he said.

Huckabee came to the editorial board meeting accompanied by his daughter, Sarah, and a local campaign volunteer, Dave Talan.

Asked what he had learned from running for president, Huckabee quipped, “That a person can live on very little sleep and still function.” Asked whether he would appoint a Supreme Court justice who would vote to overturn Roe Vs. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion, Huckabee replied: “Personally, I think Roe vs. Wade overturning is not the goal;. I think it’s the Human Life Amendment.”

What about privacy? Huckabee was asked. “This isn’t about privacy. It’s about the life of a child. It’s a human life,” he answered.

“Biologically, it’s not a piece of broccoli. It’s a human life. And of all the scientific arguments that people can have, there’s no argument that once you have a 46-chromosome DNA that is 23 of a male, 23 of a female, you have a unique DNA schedule that has never been typed like that before. And the only kind of life it can be is a human life.”

At another stop, Huckabee wowed a pint-sized crowd today with a soulful rendition of a 1960s favorite, "The House of the Rising Sun." Wisely, Huckabee left out the lyrics, which refer to a New Orleans whorehouse.

Huckabee toured Community Prep School, a private school on the city's South Side where most students are members of minority groups and where 90 percent receive full scholarships.

After a quick tour of grades 3-8 schools, Huckabee went into the music room where students were clapping and drumming to an Indian folk song.

When the teacher asked if Huckabee could play acoustic guitar, he obliged. Fortunately, he said later, the students didn't know the lyrics to the song.

Afterward, the candidate engaged the students in a discussion about the value of the arts in education and the different roles played by the right and left sides of the brain.

"When you learn music, you learn how to learn," Huckabee told them. "The creative side of your brain is natural to you. The worst thing that can happen is when someone tries to take that away from you."

Later, Huckabee told reporters that he began playing the guitar at age 11 and that he belonged to a rock band called Capitol Offense.

Earlier, he asked three students how old they thought he was.

"Twenty-five," one girl said.

"You just got another scholarship," joked Huckabee. He's 52.