Huckabee turns out to be the best communicator, doesn’t he? Then it was in order: Romney/Thompson, McCain, Hunter.
Thompson and Hunter were the two provable conservatives in that mix.
I think we'd all be well-advised not to trust Huckabee as far as we could throw him.
He flipped on immigration. In 2005-6 he was all over LULAC, slobbering on them and telling them how welcome they were in Arkansas. Saw a photo of him giving a speech to LULAC's national convention when they held it in Little Rock. He was at the podium, orating away, and behind him on the dais sat Bill Clinton, watching him with fox eyes and a clever look on his face. Naw, there is something wrong with Arkansas politics -- it's the Stevens machine. I think Huckabee is the Stevenses' Republican double-down bet. I think he's just another Clinton.
Of course, in 2007 Huckabee was swearing up and down that he was rock-ribbed on immigration, honest Injun, etc. etc. Yeah, right. Oh, and he's evangelical, too -- washed in the blood, dyed in the wool, brother! -- speaks first-rate Evangelical English, too. Amen. Yeah, right.
Romney was a non-starter. The McCain issues in the South would have been a bloodbath for Romney.