Huckabee ready to test his message

Washington (CNN) - Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he's using his upcoming book tour to gauge if his message resonates with voters before making a decision on whether or not to make a run for the White House in 2012.

"A Simple Government" hits book shelves Tuesday and describes his philosophy for the national debt, national security, international relations and family values. On a conference call with reporters Monday, he said his 41-city tour will also help him decide if "there is both financial and organizational support that warrants walking away from what I'm doing and getting back into the fray again."

Huckabee, who lost the GOP nomination in 2008 currently hosts a show on Fox News and anchors a radio program. Although he said he enjoyed campaigning in the last election, he did not enjoy the mechanics of running a national operation.
"I love to campaign, it's one of the things that I have enjoyed the most. That is the part that's most appealing to me about getting back in is that I truly enjoy the day-to-day rhythm of a campaign, as insane as that may sound to most people who aren't inflicted with this disease," Huckabee said. "But you know the thought of sitting on a telephone in some office… and just cold calling people I don't know and begging them for money, that's not my forte."
The tour also lets him avoid the news cycle that he said allows "punditry to kind of set the schedule."
"It kind of gives me an opportunity to take that message to the people rather than to wait to be one of 12 people on a debate stage getting four minutes worth of questions," Huckabee said.
But he declined to throw his support behind someone else in the current 2012 field, saying a run for president isn't one where "you just look around and see who else is on the field."
He doled out positive words for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour who are both weighing presidential bids, but ultimately said "I'm not going to make a decision based on who else is in or who's not in."