Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Mike Wintroath/AP

Last week SI writer Richard Deitsch interviewed Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for the magazine's Q&A. The governor, who has lost 110 pounds since 2003, will run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. Here are additional excerpts from the interview.

SI: Do Americans want skinny politicians?

Huckabee: I think they want healthy politicians. Leaders cannot ask of others what they themselves are unwilling to do, and without a doubt Americans need to be healthy.

SI: What politician is in good shape?

Huckabee: President Bush might be one of the most healthy politicians out there. One of the things I wish he would do more of is talk more about his own personal regimen because I think he is in the position to cause people to pay attention. He is certainly an extraordinary fit individual and is fanatical about his exercise routine.

SI: Have you and the president ever gone for a run?

Huckabee: We haven't because he stopped running just probably a little bit before I started. He went to mountain biking because his knees have given him trouble. I have run with several other politicians: Mark Sanford, the Gov. of South Carolina. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Vilsack. Running is one of those things I found where there are no politics. When you are running you're not thinking about running with a Democrat or a Republican. It's about something bigger and more important than the pettiness of partisan politics.

SI: What do you think about when you run?

Huckabee: Some days I use it as an opportunity just to pray and mediate. Other days I'll listen to music and completely escape everything and just pound the pavement to the Rolling Stones. Other days I'll use it to think about concepts and ideas that I want to present in speeches and polices. That's one of the things I have found most invigorating about running. It forces me to put a lot of different juices through my head that otherwise I would not work into the day.

SI: Last March you ran the Little Rock Marathon with the bib number "2008." Care to make this space the place where you announce a run for a higher office?

Huckabee: Well, let just say with every step I take I'm getting closer and closer to the year 2008 in more ways than one.