It seems like Mike Huckabee’s campaign for the Republican nomination has been one big mood swing.  It started off in Iowa and we all felt wonderful when he gave Mitt Romney the drubbing there.  It went on to New Hampshire, where he didn’t do so well and John McCain started his surge that hasn’t quite finished yet.  Then came Michigan, South Carolina, and Florida.

Trying to be as honest as I know how, Huckabee should have won South Carolina and I believe he would have, had it not been for Fred Thompson.  For all the talk of Huckabee splitting the conservative vote and taking it away from Romney, Thompson was the guilty party in South Carolina, taking enough of the conservative vote away from Huckabee to give the election to McCain.  Follow that with Florida, where Huckabee was rumored to have pulled out, and the disappointments mounted higher.

Then came Super Tuesday, when Huckabee swept the south and came very close in Missouri and Oklahoma.  After that was the rout in Kansas, where Huckabee won every county and then Louisiana and Washington.  We know what happened in Louisiana and I don’t think anyone knows what really happened in Washington.

We were hoping for better results in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. last night, but that didn’t happen and from here, I expect to start hearing more and more calls for Huckabee to step aside and give John McCain a clear shot to the nomination.  While I don’t expect that to happen, until McCain has the needed delegates, one has to wonder where Huckabee goes from here.

There is something to look forward to in Ohio and Texas, where I expect Huckabee to do very well.  Will it be enough to swing the tide his way and bring the nomination to a brokered convention?  I don’t know and I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to tell you I did.  I do believe Huckabee has some thinking and praying to do, trying to decide what his next move is.  It is still possible for him to win the nomination, albeit very slight.  As for Vice-President, as Huckabee said over the weekend, he has no indication that McCain would even ask him to be the VP, so that question is mute at this point.

So, again, I ask the question.  Where does Huckabee go from here?  Some have suggested he run for the Senate.  I have even heard it suggested this would be a good way for him to build his conservative credentials and help him toward another presidential bid in 2012.  All I can say about that is, if his conservative credentials are not good enough now, I doubt they will be in 2012.  What you see with Mike Huckabee is what you get.  I believe he will be the same candidate in 2012 as he is in 2008.  One thing I do know.  The movement he has started is strong and is growing stronger.  No matter what the outcome of this election is, you need to keep your eye on the man from Hope, Arkansas.  He’s going to be around for a while.

That’s my take!

Larry

Tags: 2008, 2012, Campaign, Fred Thompson, Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney, President

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 6:48 am and is filed under News/Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.