Go Away, Mike Huckabee. Go Away.
Unfortunately, Huckabee says he isn’t going away any time soon.
Mitt Romney is expected to endorse John McCain, and in political parlance, that means that Romney’s 280 delegates will go to McCain, widening the electability margin between McCain and Huck, and putting McCain easily past the 1,191 needed to win the GOP’s nomination.
Before I get to the conspiracy theory part of my post today, I want to say this: Mitt Romney was the classiest Republican candidate in the race. He ceded the race while the going is still good for the Republicans, he ceded the race at CPAC, demonstrating respect for the younger base of his party and lending an air of real consequence to the conservative delegation.
The final few minutes of hope at Mitt’s CPAC appearance:
And now, Romney’s throwing his nomination, not to the socially conservative candidate that matches his values (for the last five years, anyway), but to the candidate who needs it the most to unite the Republican party: McCain. Classy, Romney. Very classy.
Conspiracy Theory? Or Huckabee’s Game Plan?
There has been some word around that Huckabee is staying in the Presidential race (which he has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning), not to pull votes or distract the GOP from McCain (or to, you know, win), but to prove himself to the McCain Train as a viable, Southern, socially conservative candidate… for Vice-President.
God help us. No irony intended.
Okay, maybe a little.
Whatever Huckabee’s intentions, seriously, Huck would torpedo the efforts of the GOP to hold the White House in a way the Democrats could never dream up on their own. He brings absolutely nothing?besides Chuck Norris? to the table. Yes, he cut taxes a bit while Governor of Arkansas, but across the board he is an economic liberal: not exactly the man to balance McCain’s lack of economic reputation in a way that would be appealing to anyone.
Did I mention that Huckabee is also a creationist? Because that’s what we need in the White House.
Also, Huck is old. John McCain, if elected President, would be 72 when sworn into office. Barack Obama, McCain’s leading contender for POTUS, has a strong (the Kennedys say Kennedyesque) youthfulness about him; that’s what makes the Illinois senator’s message of “hope, change, change, hope” so palatable.
McCain doesn’t seem like change. McCain’s been in the Senate for 18 years. He’s a Washington insider. And that’s where Huck would hurt him- not only is the Governor in his fifties, but he is everything the mainstream Republican voter (excluding West Virginia) wants to see less of in the party: they want to see an embracing of science, not a rejection of it. They want a President who’s sensitive to the issues of global climate change. And they want a President who actually knows what to do about the economy. Huck has none of these qualities.
The good news is that most of the major news wires, although humming with the possibility that Huckabee could become McCain’s running mate, are panning the match in favor of people like Oklahoma’s Sen. Tom Coburn (who is 57 but of more intelligent stuff than ol’ Huck) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
(Yes, I am aware Jindal’s link is from RedState. For fairness, Coburn’s profile is by the Washington Post. Cry about it.)
The even better news is: the mainstream media is giving Obama an edge. Hillary’s past her prime in the papers. Although much still rests on the Mar. 4 primaries in places like Ohio and Texas, the wires have already dropped her as a serious candidate and her teary populist message is backfiring.
Now, when Obama actually comes up with a plan, instead of more shiny rhetoric, then we can see what he’s made of. Until then, Obama-mamas (and Rob), hold fast to… um… hope.
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