Beebe: 'probably Going To Vote For' Obama

Gov. Mike Beebe sat down with Roby Brock, chief editor of Talk Business, for a live streamed interview with questions from our readers. They covered a variety of issues including national and Presidential politics.

Beebe offered what could be considered a half-hearted endorsement of President Obama saying that he is “probably going to vote for him.”

His initial reaction when asked if he would support Obama in his bid for re-election was laughter, saying that “Obama does not stand a lot of a chance in Arkansas.” He cited numerous polls showing that he is very unpopular.

This support is a far cry from 2008 when Gov. Beebe said, "So there wasn’t any equivocation – anybody that asks me questions, I told you where I stand. I told you a couple weeks ago. I told you a month before that. And I will tell you again, I stand squarely with Barack Obama.”

As for the Republican field, Beebe predicted that Mitt Romney would likely be the nominee, but he offered praise for Jon Huntsman, who he said is a personal friend of his and a very smart man.

He also said that those who draw similarities to Democrats in Arkansas and “the unpopular Democratic President” are doing so for political purposes. Although he did not point to any particular issues where Arkansas Democrats disagreed with Obama, he said Arkansans are smart enough to look at the records of state Democrats and make that determination for themselves.