>I am surprised that Huckabee is the big surprise in the current Iowa polls and not Hunter....<
I am only surprised and saddened because more people in Iowa seem to want to be entertained by a phoney than are impressed by an honorable man with his finger on ALL of the important problems facing the country today, as well as the solid solutions to those problems.
I don't think Iowa means much anymore... I mean, they have consistently been the hardest of the Plains States for Republicans to win. Iowa's traditional attractiveness was it's neutrality of party, while retaining its conservative farming roots... If a candidate played well in Iowa, he would do well across the nation. But I think that pearl has lost it's luster.
Hunter is going to play well in the Great Plains and in the Rockies, as well as in his home turf, the Desert Southwest. Where he needs to get his message out the most is in the South, as Thompson/Huckabee nativity is going to be very hard to overcome.