Huckabee: After Tonight 'Things Will Get Even Crazier'

An email to his inner circle drops tantalizing hints about his 2012 announcement

Mike Huckabee will announce whether or not he's running for president on his Fox News show Saturday night. So far, several have speculated that Huckabee will announce that he will drop out of the race. "My guess is he is going to say he's not announcing a campaign," Ed Rollins, a top Huckabee adviser, told Politico.

But an email that Huckabee sent his inner circle yesterday has had many scrambling to reconsider their predictions. In the email, which Politico speculates was sent to roughly 10 people, Huckabee wrote that "I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that's possible."

Huckabee made clear that he had finalized his 2012 decision, and apologized for his secrecy in the process, which was a necessity due to the fact that he "committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel."

Despite the increased buzzing since the email's release, Politico reports that "several sources close to Huckabee still remained unconvinced he will run again for the presidency, citing his approach to making a decision." Sources privately indicated that Huckabee's approach "has an overly theatrical quality that hasn't screamed 'presidential' -- and has been comparable to the way developer Donald Trump has gone about his potential candidacy." And at this point, a Donald Trump comparison is very bad news indeed.

Below is the full text of Huckabee's email. His announcement on the 2012 election will be made Saturday night.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) I will announce the next step in my plans for 2012 during my show on the Fox News Channel. I would like to be able to call you or email you personally and in advance of the announcement, but due to the fact that the decision was not finalized until today and that I committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel, that became impractical.

A lot of information and speculation was already rampant in the press today, and it frankly isn't fair to you to tell you the details and then put you in the awkward position of saying you didn't know (which at that point wouldn't be true) or saying you did know, but couldn't reveal or discuss it.

It was this afternoon before I could even get word to all of my own children and even now, the executive producer of my show and the staff and crew of the show don't know and won't until I actually do the final preparation literally minutes before I share the decision live Saturday night.

I will look forward to speaking with you soon and once I fulfill my sworn obligation to Fox, I will be free to discuss things that I can't now due to promises to them and to some possible legal considerations of the announcement.

Many friends have said, "how can we help you in the decision?" My answer has consistently been, "Pray that I have clarity." I have it and will share it Saturday night during the show. Please be patient if I don't respond immediately to an email because I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that's possible.

My heartfelt thanks for your friendship, prayers, and support,

Mike Huckabee