Newsweek’s Holly Bailey takes a look at the campaign of Mike Huckabee with the subheading: “On paper, Mike Huckabee could be the GOP front runner. In reality, he barely registers.”
In case you were wondering, take a look at Huckabee’s platform:
Huckabee’s speech hit every major theme on the Christian conservative wish list. He explained he’s unshakably pro-life, opposes same-sex marriage and supports the troop surge in Iraq. He promised to protect gun rights and vowed to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, the agency Republicans love to hate most. “I want April 15 to be just another beautiful spring day,” Huckabee declared. “Amen!” one man called out.
Huckabee, apparently, forgot to mention that he supports abolishing birthright citizenship, a position that Paul Curtis noted this past week could cost him with the non-nativists of the Republican Party.
But what worked in Arkansas hasn’t helped him on the trail. Despite his positions, Huckabee has struggled to gain attention. His debate performances have been praised, but he barely registers in polls. It’s a problem that vexes his staff: He’s got the message. He’s got the story. He’s got the charisma. So why can’t Mike Huckabee get any respect? The short, cruel answer is that many people who should be his most enthusiastic supporters don’t think he could win if he were pitted in a nasty race against the one Democrat conservatives loathe most. “We like Mike a lot,” says Richard Land, a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention. “But nobody thinks he can beat Hillary, and a fear of another Clinton White House outweighs almost everything.”
In other words, Huckabee is too nice to be president. … [emphasis added]
Nice guys always finish last, or in this case, not first. And if you’re not first, you’re last, ey Ricky Bobby?
(Did you know that his band, Capitol Offense, opened for Willie Nelson? I wonder what Stephen Colbert would have to say about that.)
(Hat tip: Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire)
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