CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Ten months after the Republican convention awarded him the majority of the state's 30 delegates, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee returned to West Virginia today to promote his latest book.

Flanked by aides wearing jerseys with "Team Huck" emblazoned across the back, the former governor of Arkansas greeted every person in line with a handshake and a smile.

"The genius of America is still in its ordinary people," Huckabee said after the event. "If we would let the people be heard from, then we would get a lot more common sense out of Congress than we're getting now."

Huckabee, 52, carried eight states during the primary election, including a surprising win in the Iowa caucus. He is widely considered to be a frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2012.

People lined up an hour ahead of time to get their copies of "Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America" signed. The line at Books-A-Million at Dudley Farms Plaza snaked through the bookstore's aisles, and many approached the podium with cameras and cell phones at the ready.

Huckabee bantered affably as supporters told him they enjoyed his commentary on Fox News and wanted him to run again for president in 2012.

When one woman said that the autographed book would be a "very special Christmas present" for her husband, a Huckabee admirer, Huckabee joked, "Well, you married a great man. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Another man said he intended to give the signed copy as a gift to his son.

"This is so much better than the socks or the underwear or the tie that he'll never wear," Huckabee replied.

As they waited for their turn at the head of the line, many people said they were drawn to Huckabee because he seems honest, genuine and decent. Many said they liked his common sense approach to politics.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Ten months after the Republican convention awarded him the majority of the state's 30 delegates, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee returned to West Virginia today to promote his latest book.

Flanked by aides wearing jerseys with "Team Huck" emblazoned across the back, the former governor of Arkansas greeted every person in line with a handshake and a smile.

"The genius of America is still in its ordinary people," Huckabee said after the event. "If we would let the people be heard from, then we would get a lot more common sense out of Congress than we're getting now."

Huckabee, 52, carried eight states during the primary election, including a surprising win in the Iowa caucus. He is widely considered to be a frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2012.

People lined up an hour ahead of time to get their copies of "Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America" signed. The line at Books-A-Million at Dudley Farms Plaza snaked through the bookstore's aisles, and many approached the podium with cameras and cell phones at the ready.

Huckabee bantered affably as supporters told him they enjoyed his commentary on Fox News and wanted him to run again for president in 2012.

When one woman said that the autographed book would be a "very special Christmas present" for her husband, a Huckabee admirer, Huckabee joked, "Well, you married a great man. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Another man said he intended to give the signed copy as a gift to his son.

"This is so much better than the socks or the underwear or the tie that he'll never wear," Huckabee replied.

As they waited for their turn at the head of the line, many people said they were drawn to Huckabee because he seems honest, genuine and decent. Many said they liked his common sense approach to politics.

Roger Pauley, pastor of the Cranberry Baptist Church in Beckley, stood in line with his son-in-law as their wives shopped with grandchildren in tow. Pauley said he appreciated that Huckabee, himself a former Baptist pastor, shared his Christian values.

"Hopefully, he'll run for president in four years," he said. "We believe strongly that until we get back to the Christian principles that this country was founded on, we won't see God bless America as he did years ago."

Pam Widener clutched two copies of "Do the Right Thing" -- one for herself, one for her father -- in one hand, and her 5-month-old child asleep in a baby carrier in the other.

"I just think he's great," said Widener, who drove to the Southridge bookstore from Servia in Braxton County. She described Huckabee as true and honest, "kind of a rare find in the world today."

Carolyn Short of Charleston waited in line alongside her sister, Charlotte Keller.

Short said she liked Huckabee because he is soft-spoken and has a good sense of humor.

"He's very American," she said. "He's just like the rest of us."

 The woman in front of Short nodded in agreement, noting that the sometime bass player had struggled with weight, as many others do. Huckabee chronicled his successful efforts to lose 110 pounds after he was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in his fourth book, "Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork."

Several people mentioned that they had seen Huckabee speak at the state's Republican convention in February.

"I talk about that West Virginia moment in my book," Huckabee said, adding that he hoped to clear up some misconceptions about what actually took place.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 348-1723.