CONCORD, N.H. - Having soared to the top of polls in Iowa, Mike Huckabee opened a three-day trip yesterday to New Hampshire by announcing that his underfunded and understaffed campaign will be transformed by hiring of a new campaign chairman, former Reagan adviser Ed Rollins, a self-described "bare knuckles" brawler who promptly vowed to try to win the first-primary state.
Until yesterday, Huckabee's campaign had waged a modest effort in New Hampshire, all but conceding the state to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and hoping for a finish in the top four in the primary five days after the Iowa caucuses. But Huckabee's strategy is changing because his campaign has concluded he is already getting a bounce from the Iowa polls, with one New Hampshire survey giving him 14 percent of the vote.
"We are going to be full bore here," Rollins said at a press conference, standing next to a beaming Huckabee. "We think this is a very critical state."
Rollins, who engineered a 49-state reelection victory for Ronald Reagan in 1984, said he hoped to win 50 states with Huckabee, whom he described as a politician with communication skills similar to those of Reagan.
link:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/15/huckabee_hires_former_reagan_adviser/