Posted on 10/31/2007 2:19:28 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, of late, has been the subject of endless punditry among Republican insiders. Some insist he is the new dark horse who can grab the nomination while others contend that he’s an irrelevant creation of a bored press corps.
In truth, he is neither.
Despite the rave reviews for his debate performances and his crushing win over Mitt Romney in the straw poll of religious conservatives who actually attended the Family Research Council (FRC) Voter Values Summit, Mr. Huckabee is limited.
He has raised a fifth of what Ron Paul has collected. He lacks appeal in urban states, holds views which are antithetical to fiscal conservatives and lacks any foreign policy experience. His odds of actually capturing the nomination are roughly equivalent to the chance that Rudy Giuliani would get through a debate without using the phrase “when I was mayor of New York City.”
Yet it would be a mistake to ignore Mr. Huckabee. Even without winning, he’s likely to factor heavily in the primary, posing a threat in particular to the candidacies of Mr. Romney and Fred Thompson.
Polling in Iowa shows Mr. Huckabee’s stock rising after he placed a respectable second in the Ames Straw Poll. After his surprising showing at the FRC event, some state polling in Texas and in Georgia had him tied or ahead of Mr. Romney, while a recent Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll showed him leading Mr. Romney nationally among religious conservatives.
His plain-spoken appeal and social conservative credentials make him a viable alternative to Mr. Romney in Iowa and to Mr. Thompson in South Carolina. Neither state requires huge media buys and both have high concentrations of evangelical conservatives--the type of voter that embraced him at the FRC. Moreover, as the self-proclaimed David to these two Goliaths, Mr. Huckabee need not actually get more votes than his better known opponents to declare a moral victory.
By contrast, after inflating his lead in Iowa through incessant visits and enormous expenditures on paid ads, Mr. Romney has raised expectations which a close second place by Huckabee could easily undermine. Similarly, he could harm the Thompson bid simply by diminishing Mr. Thompson’s margin of victory in South Carolina.
But beyond all that, Mr. Huckabee is a walking, talking advertisement for his opponents’ flaws.
Mr. Romney’s elastic views and slick presentation seems that much worse to social conservatives next to Mr. Huckabee, a Baptist preacher whose fire-and-brimstone invocation of religious values makes the Romney message seem plastic and contrived.
And Mr. Thompson, he of the forgettable public appearances, lethargic schedule and distain for retail politics, suffers badly when compared to Mr. Huckabee’s considerable charm and energy. It often seems that Mr. Huckabee is the actor and Mr. Thompson the small-state governor.
Mr. Huckabee may not have the profile or resources to win the nomination, but he could do serious damage to two contenders who have yet to get their political acts together. In that regard, he may well live up to his hype.
The liberal MSM must really think Social Conservatives are stupid. They keep pitching and pimping the Huckster hoping somebody will buy.
To be added please FReepmail me or OB1KNOB.
Fred is a better actor than we thought, and I think quite a bit smarter.
Now if you think a national smoking ban, high taxes, open borders and government health police are good for America, then Huck is your guy.
I used to think Bill Clinton was Elmer Gantry but the Huckster really takes the cake.
I think the point is that Huck is being carried by the MSM to steal votes from other candidates. Duncan Hunter isn’t mentioned here in this article, but obviously Fred is, and the libs want to see a fractured GOP.
...Wha! NO Barfer Alert?
In all seriousness, Huckabee is a liberal who happens to be pro life. He is in the wrong party. He might do better against Hillary running for the Democratic nomination. If we have Republican in the GOP who are pro-choice and the Dems have pro-life Blue Dog Democrats from conservative states.
Huckabee should change party affiliations.
You'd think the voting adults in this nation would support the most qualified candidate instead of deciding based on "charm and energy". Sounds like many are voting like a beauty pageant for Ms. America instead of President of America. God help us. Literally.
The idea of a Huckabee as a real candidate is smoke and mirrors. I heard this guy on Cavuto today.
I see through you Huck, you want to be a Rudy VP and you think you can add the values to Rudy that he needs.
Ha, won’t work, you are very transparent.
"Social conservatives" are usually "fiscal conservatives", as well. And fiscal conservatives want no part of a tax-raising, open-borders welfare-stater, that's for sure. I happen to believe that Mike is indeed "an irrelevant creation of a bored press corps". The author, Jennifer Rubin, proves it with the very drivel she wrote.
Couldn’t agree more. Huck does not fit in with the RINOs. But he would fit in well among the conservative RATS.
Baby Killer/Nanny Stater ‘08!!!!
You mean your not excited by that?
How about the very bored people like me and you who are talking about this stuff in between getting up to answer the doorbell every 3 minutes for a trick or treater.
Rudy/Huckabee vs. Hillary/Bill
Just curious what you mean by Fred is a better actor than we thought BTW.
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