Mike Huckabee has a saying: Take God seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. The former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate demonstrated that adage yesterday while campaigning in Concord.

Huckabee, who was a Baptist preacher before entering politics, began a morning speech at Northeast Delta Dental by talking about his rock band, Capitol Offense. Before listing its best gigs - opening for Willie Nelson and Dionne Warwick as well as playing on the State House lawn in Concord last summer- Huckabee explained the band's name.

"All of us work for the state capitol," he said. "And we offended about everybody that we ever played with."

Later, at a luncheon for state lawmakers, Huckabee took questions from the mostly Republican crowd. Rep. Al Baldasaro of Londonderry said he had an easy one: How do you feel about guns, abortion and gay marriage?

"Those are easy questions," Huckabee said.

As someone with his own permit to carry a concealed weapon, Huckabee said he's in favor of people owning firearms to protect their families. He also said he's "unabashedly, unashamedly" pro-life. And as for marriage, Huckabee said he believes it's one man and one woman for life. The luncheon crowd applauded his answer.

In his second trip to New Hampshire in a month, Huckabee, 51, said yesterday that he's a conservative who believes in lower taxes, local control, a strong military and a strong family. The topic he spent the most time talking about, however, was health care.

America's health care system, Huckabee told employees at Northeast Delta Dental, a dental insurance company, is upside down: Doctors are trained to treat diseases, not prevent them. Huckabee said he'd like to flip the system, offering incentives to people who wear seat belts, quit smoking or exercise, instead of subsidizing those who don't.

"Imagine we focused on healthy behaviors, not sick behaviors," said Huckabee, who offered similar incentives to state employees during his 10½ years as governor of Arkansas.

Applied nationally, that plan could allow the country to cut its health care spending by 6 percent, or $700 billion a year, he said. It could also fend off what Huckabee called the "pandemic" of diabetes.

He should know. Nearly five years ago, a much heavier Huckabee was diagnosed with the disease. Huckabee started jogging after his doctor said that if he didn't change his habits of no exercise and plenty of fried food, he would live a short life. Four marathons later, and 110 pounds lighter, Huckabee told the crowd at Northeast Delta Dental that his medical bills have since gone down and he can do things today that he couldn't do at 18.

"If a guy like me can make a change, anyone can do it," he said.

That message resonated with Peg Michaud, a 43-year-old employee from Barnstead who recently lost 80 pounds with the help of a company-provided personal trainer. Michaud didn't know much about Huckabee before his visit but said his personal stories show that he cares.

"He wasn't a politician," said Michaud, who described herself as an independent who is not usually interested in politics. "He was a normal person."

Huckabee's suggestions sparked questions for others, however. One employee asked if Huckabee thought Americans would be better off under a national health care system that would provide universal coverage.

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