Fire In The Belly!

I've been listening to some political chatter about how Mike Huckabee is not running for President. One phrase that keeps getting thrown around is "fire in the belly" in that Huckabee doesn't have it to the extent needed to run a sufficiently ferocious campaign.

FIRE IN THE BELLY - "an unquenchable thirst for power or glory; the burning drive to win a race or achieve a goal. As a political phrase, the expression is usually used to indicate a Presidential candidate's desire to win, particularly the willingness to endure the long contest. It first appeared in print in 1882, in an essay by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which he compared historians Thomas Carlyle and Thomas Babington Macaulay.The source of the expression is not known. Perhaps this metaphor for ambition comes from stoking a potbellied stove or from the fiery sensation of heartfelt heartburn. From "Safire's New Political Dictionary" by William Safire (Random House, New York, 1993). Pages 249-250.

I can't help but think of massive gastric indigestion. Ugh.

Oh and the wonderfully lush Wayne Howard cover for Midnight Tales also came to mind. (Any excuse to feature Howard's stuff is a good one.)

Rip Off