DES MOINES -- Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee calls his cadre of loyal volunteers "Huck's Army." And one of his premiere battalions is a tight network of Christian home-schooling families who view the campaign as a civic -- and educational -- duty.
Huckabee has spent roughly $400,000 campaigning in Iowa and has hired enough full-time workers in recent months to put his statewide staff into double digits. Yet he's pulled even with or ahead of his chief rival, Mitt Romney, who has spent millions.
John and Diane Desaulniers plan to spend the Christmas season making sure Huckabee keeps his momentum. They and their four children -- two in college and two being home-schooled through high school -- have committed to taking on any task that needs doing, whether it's updating campaign databases, distributing yard signs or baking Christmas cookies to energize the staff....