However, there were many positive aspects that many consider to outweigh his questionable ethics in office.
-Highway contruction
-Rural school consolidation (bold stance on controversial issue)
-Budget Surplus at time of national downturn

His biggest strength was that he, like Clinton, was willing to negotiate on many issues. Fred Thompson's ad has a clip of Huckabee saying that he'd be fine with raising taxes. Huckabee knows that to get things done, especially in a state with a democratic house and senate, you have to be willing to negotiate and think practically.

Huckabee is a consensus builder with charm and wit. While he may be conservative he certainly knows how to make deals and be bi-partisan.

Here's an interesting little quip he made:
He was at a press event in Iowa where throngs of reporters were asking him questions. Across the room a woman's shoe fell off. Huckabee immediately stopped asking questions, waded through the crowd to the shoe, bent down to one knee, slipped the shoe on the woman's foot, and said “should have been a glass slipper.”

Soob has a good piece on the Rise of Huck!