WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made it clear to the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday that he is hoping to be their choice in the 2008 GOP presidential field.

"This conference is called CPAC and maybe this weekend it might be renamed the 'Conservative Presidential Anxiety Conference,'" Huckabee said to laughter. "The theme might be, 'Dude, where's my candidate?' Well I'd like to think that maybe he's standing in front of you."

Huckabee also dismissed notions that the candidate with the most money and name recognition has a lock on winning the White House.

"I hear people say that, well, the only thing that's going to matter in this election is celebrity and money -- who has the most familiar name and who's raised the most money," he said. "My dear friends, may I say to you that if celebrity and money are the criteria to be President of the United States, then Paris Hilton might be our next president."

Watch Huckabee strut his conservative credentials at CPAC