ST. GEORGE — Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee became the second Republican presidential hopeful to visit St. George, but he didn't use his visit Thursday as a campaign stop to raise funds.

"I'm not making a partisan speech today," said Huckabee, 51, who spoke to several hundred people attending the Utah League of Cities and Towns midyear convention at the Dixie Center.

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney came to St. George in February for a breakfast fund-raiser with supporters.

Huckabee, who recently formed a 2008 presidential exploratory committee, never mentioned his political aspirations to the large group of elected officials and public employees, although he did address the reason why he feels drawn to public service.

"In many ways, it's very unlikely that I would ever be a speaker at this event," he said. "It's been an amazing journey for me to get here."

Huckabee said he grew up "just a pocketful of change away from poverty" in southern Arkansas and became the first male in his family to ever graduate from high school and go on to college.

"I love this country, where kids like me didn't have to stay in poverty," he said. "I'm living the American dream."

Much of Huckabee's speech centered on the nation's health-care crisis, which he called the country's "sick care system."

"There is no other issue in America that is more ominous than the health crisis," he said. "The focus is on spending money on people who are sick and probably wouldn't need to be if they chose to live healthy lives. We have built an entire system on treating snake bites when we ought to be killing some snakes."

Four years ago, Huckabee said, he weighed 110 pounds more than he does now and could barely climb a short flight of stairs without running out of breath.

"Then my doctor sat me down, said I had type 2 diabetes and if I didn't change my lifestyle, I would enter my last decade of life," he said. "I decided I had to take personal responsibility for my health. I didn't want to check out early because of my own foolishness."

Huckabee said he transformed his body through healthy eating and exercise, a combination he challenged his audience to take home and take to heart.

Local governments also can make a difference in the health of their employees, Huckabee added.

"I've become increasingly convinced that the best government is local government," he said. "I'm very frustrated at what Washington has failed to deliver. It is polarized and totally paralyzed and unable to do anything."

Huckabee said if Americans would stop overeating, underexercising and smoking, the nation's economy would benefit.

"Almost 17 percent of the gross national product is spent on health care. No other nation spends near that amount," he said.

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