NBC25 travels to Grand Rapids to speak with Mike Huckabee about his new book "A Simple Christmas."

GRAND RAPIDS -- Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was back in Michigan this time not as a candidate, but as an author with a message from his book “A Simple Christmas.” 

But other messages were requested from Huckabee fans who asked him questions while taking pictures, looking for a handshake, an autograph or book signature. Huckabee talked about current events like the Fort Hood shooting and the trial of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed on American soil. 

“Anything less than a death penalty out of this case and I don’t see how the American people will accept how this should have gone there (to New York City).”  He could not avoid the big question: will he run for president again in 2012, after taking the lead in a USA/Today poll on possible GOP contenders.    

“I don’t even want to think about that until after the mid-term (elections in 2010),” he said.  “We need to get some good people elected to the House and Senate and stop some of the stuff going on now,” he added. 

Perhaps the most heartwarming part of his visit was in a story out of his new book.  He talked about his wife’s cancer fight in 1975, and how it taught him of Christmas’ true meaning.

“What we found out is that Christmas is not about what we have, what we eat, what we gave, or where we live.  It’s about who we have relationships with,” Huckabee said. He left Grand Rapids for his next book tour stop in Chicago.