LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln on Monday described her Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas as "kinder and gentler" than her GOP colleague, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Asked to compare the two White House hopefuls, Lincoln told The Associated Press: "Kinder and gentler comes to mind, but I probably shouldn't say that. I think he puts a different face on things than some of the Republicans in the Senate."

Lincoln joked that she is already exhausted by all the possible candidates in the Senate, among them McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan. On a more serious note, she said she was hopeful that presidential politics wouldn't interfere with the Senate agenda in 2007.

"We've got to produce and our hope is that all of our caucus swill be together and working hard to produce," Lincoln said. "In a presidential election with so many of our caucus members going, I think that might be kind of difficult."