Grayson stacks the deck, stifles free speech

Well, ye socks, our illustrious freshman congressman Alan Grayson finally got around to hosting a "town hall meeting" in the district tonight.

I put that in quotes, because the hastily-thrown-together circus was anything but an open forum for his constituents.

It was held in the union hall (go figure) of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, immediately following a meeting of the local Democratic Party.

This meant there were only about 120 seats to be had, and most of them were filled by party activists who hung around after their meeting.

Many, many more people surrounded the building, but were denied entry. Instead, they had to stand outside in the sultry summer air to express their frustration, wave signs, and chant slogans. Surprisingly, there was only one arrest during the two hours of protest: a man who jostled someone while trying to record video of the scene.

Inside, despite the late hour, Grayson used his three children as human shields, reminding every one of the four people who actually dared to ask him a probing question that they were present.

Amazingly, he had the nerve to dismiss questions about tort reform and Medicare fraud because they were not part of the socialist health care bill pending before Congress. In that, he totally missed the point. The fact that these items are not addressed in the bill are just two of the things that make it bad legislation. But, I suppose it is too much to expect our representative in Washington to listen to our concerns and . . . oh, I don't know . . . maybe introduce an amendment or two to address them?!

Ultimately, Grayson was forced to admit the real cause of the nation's high health care costs: "There is a profound lack of competition." Yep, his precise words. And, they ring true.

It is the lack of free and open competition that causes people in New York to pay double the premiums that their neighbors across the state line in Pennsylvania pay.

Any REAL health care reform would address things like that and remove the contrived barriers to affordability.

Instead, Grayson and his ilk seem hellbent on erecting even more barriers, constructing an even bigger bureaucracy in Washington, and leaving an even more astounding mountain of public debt to our children and grandchildren (and their children and grandchildren).

Pitiful and pathetic.

Adios, Mel!

No doubt in response to the withering criticism in yesterday's post in the dryer, Florida's most beloved spineless RINO announced his resignation at Orlando International Airport at 3pm today.

Senator Mel Martinez once inspired great confidence in these parts, and even succeeded in getting yours truly off his wallet to make a campaign contribution back in 2004.

All I can say now is that he hosed me. He hosed us all.

After taking his senate seat, Mel fell into some bad company. Supporting the ObamaNation's recent Supreme Court nominee was only the latest example. The most egregious was his partnership with Ted Kennedy back in 2006, when they crafted a bill that would have granted amnesty to ten million illegal aliens.

Ironically, despite his affinity for Democrats and their policies, the Republican National Committee made Mel their chairman about the same time. And, it was under his "leadership" that the party lost its majority in Congress.

So, goodbye, Mel. I wish you well in your future as a private citizen, but can't say I'll miss your style of "public service." I only hope your departure hasn't opened the door to 6 years of Charlie Crist warming your seat on the left of the aisle in the senate chambers . . .

A suggestion to Anheuser Busch

Is it just yours truly, or is there electricity in the air on this Beer Summit Eve?

Now, I know a lot of ye socks have criticized The ObamaNation for hosting this event at all. And, I understand the reasons for believing it is beneath the dignity of the White House to get involved in a petty issue like the scrap between Professor Henry Gates and Officer James Crowley--much less propose to act as referee over adult beverages.

I don't know why folks are getting upset now, since we now have a pretty good explanation why we've seen such interesting behavior in and around the executive mansion in recent months: beer!

Is that whole multi-trillion dollar deficit thing beginning to make sense to you now?

And, you thought they were just drunk on their own power as they went about shackling us and future generations with staggering debt and concocted schemes to hijack Wall Street, Detroit, and the nation's healthcare system!

It was just the beer talking, all along!

But, here's my thought. The problem here isn't too much drinking in the West Wing. Rather, there's not been enough!

If we could just convince a patriotic distributor to commit to delivering a keg or two to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue every day, maybe these jackasses* would get plowed and pass out before they could do any more damage!

(* The term jackasses was not used here to offend, but rather as a reference to the reigning party's mascot. And, no, that's not Ted Kennedy . . . though, he does know a little bit about drinking to excess . . . )

And, while they're at it, maybe they could drop a couple off at the other end of The Mall to keep our illustrious legislators busy, too . . .

The War on Prosperity

Most of ye socks are too young to remember when Lyndon Johnson became president and declared a "War on Poverty."

Heck, I'm too young to remember that myself. But, I do crack a book every once in a while . . . something that has evidently fallen out of fashion lately . . .

Anyway, Johnson used his declaration (which, by the way, was unconstitutional since Congress is the branch of government that declares war) to justify the twin ideals of the modern Democratic Party: increasing taxes and growing the size and scope of government.

The ObamaNation is even more "idealistic" than old LBJ ever dreamed of being, waging the new undeclared War on Prosperity.

The tactics are simple yet effective:

* Hike the top tax rate to nearly 40%.

* Disallow top earners from deducting things like state & local taxes, charitable contributions, and mortgage interest from their federal tax bill.

* Hike the payroll tax.

* Raise the capital gains tax to 20%.

These tactics will not only dampen investment in an already-soaked marketplace, they will also continue the slide in consumer spending.

Clearly, the ObamaNation's goal is to dream up more methods of redistributing the shrinking wealth rather than reversing the shrinkage.

Increasing bureaucracies and tax burdens are far more fashionable these days than, say, fighting inflation.

In waging this war to shrink the pie before it is even cut, the ObamaNation stands on the principles that were articulated so well on the campaign trail last year.

Unfortunately, the principles are bad ones.

Hope and change!

Hillary's strongest argument

If the Democratic Party wasn't such a screwball organization, Hillary Clinton would be their presidential nominee.

Not only did she win the popular vote, she won where it counted most. In the "real world" outside of the whacky Democratic primary system, winners take all state delegates. Remember the Electoral College.

Using those "real world" electoral numbers, the junior senator from New York thrashed the junior senator from Illinois:

Hillary's states:
Arizona (10), Arkansas (6), California (55), Florida (27), Indiana (11), Kentucky (8), Massachusetts (12), Michigan (17), Nevada (5), New Hampshire (4), New Jersey (15), New Mexico (5), New York (31), Ohio (20), Oklahoma (7), Pennsylvania (21), Rhode Island (4), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (34), and West Virginia (5).

That's a total of 311 electoral votes . . . WAY more than a candidate needs to claim the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

So, who's responsible for the mess within the Democratic Party?

Well, the answer is: There's plenty of blame to go around.

Blame Ted Kennedy and his ilk for creating this "super delegate" nonsense after he failed to topple the political juggernaut that is Jimmy Carter.

And, blame Howard Dean for mismanaging the Florida and Michigan situation from the get-go, then caving at the last minute.

The bottom line is, the weaker candidate "won" AGAIN.

Poor Hillary, I feel so sorry for her . . . wiping the tear from my eye . . . excuse me, I'm going to need a second to get over this . . .

sniffle

Is that REALLY the best you've got?!

Well, it looks like the long, drawn-out circus that is the Democratic primary season has finally come to a conclusion.

Maybe.

As an outsider looking in, I am really surprised that this is the best the party has to offer America.

Sure, the junior senator from Illinois has a gift for oratory. But, it takes more than fancy words and syncopated speaking style to actually govern a nation of 300 million people.

He's naive beyond words. How else can you explain his proposal to sit down with the "leader" of Iran, who denies one Holocaust and advocates another?

He's also a waffler, who abandons his "friends" and "principles" when they are no longer politically expedient.

I also find it more than a little ironic that this "young" man sets himself up as a champion of change, because he advocates so many policies that have been tried and failed in the past. Perhaps, he needs to do a little historical research before he makes any more proposals for change.

You cannot run for President of the United States if you are constantly looking in the rear-view mirror.

Where are the forward thinkers in this country?

They're certainly not voting in Democratic primaries . . .

Huckabee on MSNBC tonight!

Our favorite former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will be on MSNBC tonight, helping that wayward network cover the West Virginia primary.

I say "wayward," because I am convinced that MSNBC stands for "Must Show Non-stop Barack Coverage."

Hopefully, Huck can class-up the place tonight . . . or, at least give another perspective than the jackboot high-stepping of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann and the parade of idiots they lead on behalf of the junior senator from Illinois.

Matthews has lost any credibility as a journalist. Remember last year when he confessed to Don Imus on the air, "I want a president who doesn't have a f***ing ranch!"

He also admits to getting "a thrill running up my leg" when he hears Barack Hussein Obama speak. He has even gone so far as to say on air, "If you don't cry when you hear Barack Obama speak at a rally, then you're not an American."

Olbermann is not much better. While less overtly-pro-Obama than his buddy Matthews, he makes up for that with anti-Hillary rants--the likes of which he used to reserve only for George W. Bush.

Frustrated that the New York senator and former first lady is still in the race for the White House, he suggested finding "somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out."

These "stars" of MSNBC have become nothing less than cheerleaders for Team Obama. And, I am looking forward to seeking Huckabee shoot down their ridiculous comments.

Something tells me, he'll have an easier time handling those two dead-heads as he did hooking these two fish in the Ouachita River!

A dunce cap for Obama

I don't know why yours truly tuned in to watch a portion of the Democratic debate on ABC last night.

Maybe, it's because I always enjoy watching Democrats go at each other's throats.

Anyway, I wonder how many of ye socks out there may have gotten the impression of Barrack Hussein Obama that I did.

We all know how captivating he can be on the campaign trail. The press have been selling us that for a long, long time. Certainly, his rhetoric is bold and lofty.

But, he is light on substance. And, he came off last night as being completely ignorant of rudimentary tax policies.

Oh, he CLAIMS he wants to make changes to the tax system to benefit the middle class. (A group of people he labels as those who earn less than $250,000 a year.)

In reality, though, he wants to hike the capital gains tax rate up to 28%.

Didn't he take even one course on economics in college?

Raising the cap gains rate has a proven record of reducing the amount of revenue collected by the government--revenue it would desperately need if it is expected to fund all the expanded social programs the illustrious junior senator from Illinois is proposing.

But, Obama doesn't stop there. He also wants to raise the cap on wages subject to the payroll tax from the current $97,500 to $102,000.

So, he is contradicting himself. $102,000 is far below the level he himself established for the "middle class." By his own definition, his proposals will increase the tax burden on these folks, not lighten their load.

I guess with some folks like Obama, dogma trumps pragmatism. They'd rather adhere to their orthodoxy (in his case, higher taxes and bigger government) than deal with reality . . .

Not just an echo.

Well, it was a yucky rainy day down here in usually-sunny Central Florida. So, yours truly ended up watching CSPAN.

Go ahead and laugh.

But, I found myself wrapped-up in the network's live coverage of the "Black State of the Union," organized by Tavis Smiley over in New Orleans.

I really tuned in because Hillary Clinton was scheduled to address the crowd, something Barack Hussein Obama declined to do. And, I wanted to see what kind of reception she would get after all of her husband's antics in South Carolina.

Anyway, Mr. Smiley's lead-in was a panel discussion of some sort. I didn't catch the entire thing. But, it was really quite interesting, and I was actually inspired by the words of one of the panelists.

He was a professor from Princeton University. He looked like a "nutty professor," and I could tell by most of his words that he and I probably disagree on just about every topic of political debate. However, he did (inadvertently, I'm sure) inspire me when he encouraged the audience to use their own voice, and not simply be an "echo of the past."

The substance behind this exhortation was the professor didn't want his listeners to rest on the laurels of the generations that came before them. Instead, he encouraged them to become actively involved in their community and nation.

I would take his argument one step further, in a direction I'm sure the professor would not like. Don't just do things because your parents and grandparents did them. Think about it first. Make your own decisions. Really speak with your own voice. You might just discover that voice doesn't belong to a single political party. And, you might find that independent voice resonates much more deeply than the echoes of the past.

The New York Times loses MORE credibility

I am so angry with NYT editor Bill Keller today, I could just spit nails.

Not because his paper ran an article yesterday about a rumored affair between Senator John McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman.

No, what makes me angry is that Keller and his editorial board SAT ON THIS STORY for months. In fact, Keller actually met with McCain to discuss the details last year.

But, he didn't bother putting it into print in his yellow rag until McCain had won enough GOP presidential primaries and caucuses to make him the party's presumptive nominee.

I think he did it INTENTIONALLY.

He didn't want GOP voters to catch a whiff of a potential scandal until after every Democrat's favorite Republican was far enough ahead in the delegate count.

In so doing, he and his editorial board have failed the public trust.

By denying the public access to this type of information, which could very well sway a voter's opinion, Keller and his cronies at the New York Times are tinkering with our democracy.

That's the real story here, not some supposed extra-marital affair being pimped by a disgruntled former aide. (The Washington Post at least identified the source for the rumor: John Weaver, who left--or, was asked to leave--the McCain campaign last year.) My question is, if the allegation makes McCain a flawed candidate, why did the Times endorse him? I would suggest it is because that is exactly what they want atop the GOP ticket this fall, because it will make it easier for their beloved Democrats to achieve a victory at the polls.

So much for the lofty pretensions of the most self-satisfied organ of the Fourth Estate.

The Times outrageously claims to publish "all the news that's fit to print." It seems it may only be defined as "fit" if it keeps the American public in the dark long enough to suit their patently partisan agenda.

For ye socks living in states that haven't held their primaries yet (are you hearing me TEXAS?!), I encourage you to send a message by voting for Mike Huckabee.

And, if you have a subscription to the Times, cancel it!

Michelle Obama is walking a fine line.

A fine line between cheeky and saracastic, that is.

For quite some time now, I have found her speeches on the campaign trail to be as annoying as nails on a chalk board. And, not just because I vehemently disagree with her socialist tendancies. The real problem I have with her is her smarmy speaking style. She punctuates her sentencies with absurd facial expressions, and the sort of dismissive "ughs" typical of a 13-year old who is disgusted by having to explain something to their parents.

Well, it has finally caught up with her.

In case you missed every major news outlet today, the wife of the Democratic frontrunner Barack Hussein Obama stepped in big doo-doo in an appearance up in Wisconsin on Presidents Day.

Her speech was typically Obama-esque, heavy on platitudes about hope and change but light on any real substance.

However, there was one line that ruffled a LOT of feathers: "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."

It is simply outrageous that someone who has lived in this country for 44 years and benefited greatly as a result of her citizenship cannot recall another single moment in time when she was proud to be an American. Perhaps, she should take time away from "speechifying" and crack a history book or two to catch up with the rest of us . . .

Mrs. Obama went on to give just two reasons for her newly-discovered pride in the USA:
(1) Her husband is doing well.
(2) People are hungry for change.

Wow. Stunning. Two reasons.

I suppose it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The power couple from the south side of Chicago have consistently shown themselves to be less than patriotic. Remember when Barack Hussein Obama refused to wear a red, white, and blue lapel pin like everyone else in the U.S. Senate, dismissing them as "a substitute for true patriotism." Remember, too, when he alone stood out among the field of Democratic candidates attending Tom Harkin's annual steak fry out in Iowa last year, because he failed to put his hand over his heart during a rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner."

The more we learn about the Obamas, the more self-centered and ignorant they appear. And, I don't use those words lightly.

Woe unto this country if either one of them takes up residence in the White House.

Democrats: Are they dumber than concrete?

That was the actual heading to Mike Thomas 's column in today's Orlando Sentinel. Gotta love it!

Oh, and Mike, the simple answer is "YES!"

Here's the full text of his colum for ye socks who find this sort of political talk interesting:

I am not a political analyst. But I was around for the great Florida voting fiasco of November 2000.And I'm getting flashbacks with talk of a brokered Democratic convention decided by "superdelegates."

Consider this scenario, which no longer seems so far-fetched:Barack Obama goes into the convention having won the majority of primaries and delegates. But he doesn't have enough delegates to win the nomination.

And so the superdelegates -- a group of politicians and political insiders -- go into their star chamber and pick Hillary Clinton.

The fallout not only would cost Democrats the November election but would haunt them for many elections to come.

Now let's return to November 2000. Many blacks in Florida were blocked from voting when they erroneously popped on lists of convicted felons.

Many more who did vote had their ballots tossed out for technical errors -- for example, writing in Al Gore's name as well as punching it on the ballot. The problem was compounded by antiquated machines in rural counties.

More than half the rejected Florida votes in 2000 were cast by black voters. In its report, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights referred to "injustice, ineptitude and inefficiency."A subsequent analysis noted that nationwide, a million votes by blacks may not have been counted. This has been a rallying theme among Democrats.

In a speech to the NAACP during his 2004 campaign, John Kerry said, "Don't tell us that in the strongest democracy on earth that a million disenfranchised African-Americans and the most tainted election in American history is the best that we can do."

And so consider the fallout if eight years later, Democratic Party bosses basically do the same thing that they accused the Republicans of doing. They defy the will of the voters, including the vast majority of blacks, and rig the election for their candidate.

This system of superdelegates is a perversion of the very principles the Democrats pretend to follow.

How can you have a party that professes to be of the people when party bosses, who don't have to follow the will of the people, make up about 20 percent of the convention delegates. There is a public campaign played out in the various state contests and a secret campaign carried out on phone lines.

The Republicans are more democratic than the Democrats.

The backlash of a Clinton backroom win would be harsh.

John McCain would have the inside track on the independent vote. Those energized blacks who turned out with such passion for Obama would lose their zeal. So too would the growing number of young voters looking to the Democratic Party after eight years of George W. Bush.

The Democrats' only hope would be Obama taking the second spot on the ticket. But why should someone who came into the convention in the lead accept the Morgan Freeman role in Driving Miss Hillary?

Obama has won 19 state primaries and caucuses to 11 for Clinton. He also should win the next four primaries.

Yet many projections have Clinton ahead in the total delegate count because she leads among superdelegates.

If this dynamic continues to play out and Clinton wins the nomination, here are two words you can put in the bank: President McCain.

Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com.

Rick Perry is getting nervous

For ye socks unfamiliar with Lone Star politics, Rick Perry is the Governor of Texas. He succeeded George W. Bush about the same time Mike Huckabee started cleaning-up all the Clinton debris in neighboring Arkansas.

Ye may also be unaware that Mr. Perry made the mistake of endorsing Rudy Giuliani for president several months ago. And, since the former New York City mayor withdrew from the race, Perry has sheepishly followed him into the McCain camp.

All of this must be pretty embarassing for the governor, and is doubtlessly eroding his support among his conservative fellow Texans.

If he believed more in the values that are most important to Texans instead of political opportunism, he wouldn't have to bounce around from one camp to another.

Today, we hear that he called Huckabee and practically begged him to suspend his campaign.

That took some nerve.

Rest assured, he didn't place that call out of any particular passion for John McCain.

He didn't do it for the best interests of the Republican party.

He didn't do it because he wants to necessarily defeat the Dumbocrats in November.

Rather, he acted out of fear and the instinct for self-preservation that are all too often the trademarks of most politicians. He can't afford to be seen as the supporter of TWO failed candidates. Think about it!

How much egg will Perry have on his face when Mike Huckabee wins Texas in March?!

Go, Mike, go!

Sometimes, you just can't buy a vote . . .

Mitt Romney finally learned that lesson. Unfortunately, it was a lesson that cost him an estimated $87.6 million -- much of that his own money. But, I guess he could afford it.

As astronomical a figure as that may appear, it is still only slightly more than Barrack Hussein Obama ($85.2M) and Hillary Rob 'Em Clinton ($80.4M) have spent so far on their side of the aisle.

Still it is more than the combined total spent by John McCain ($48.8M) and his recently-withrdrawn buddy Rudy Giuliani ($39.1M).

And, it is many, many, many more dollars than our favorite candidate Mike Huckabee has had at his disposal. He's had to get out there and earn every vote and delegate, and is getting WAY more bang for his buck. So, ask yourselves, who do you want spending your tax dollars? Seems like Huck is the only one who knows how to stretch them!

Anyway, as nasty as Romney's campaign got out on the trail, I do offer him some grudging respect for knowing when to call it quits.

He says he's doing it for the party and for the country. In that order, which seems more than a little wrong. But, whatever.

According to Mitt, he needed to suspend his campaign to "forestall the launch of a national campaign" to prevent the Dems' from surrendering to the terrorists who want to destroy the civilized world. Fair logic.

But, note his use of the term "suspend." That's not the same as "end."

I'll bet you a dime to a donut he's going to hold on to his delegates until the convention on the off chance that something dramatic happens in the interim. And, even then, he will only release them to McCain or Huckabee when they can no longer be used as bargaining chips.

Mitt is a businessman. He is shrewd in that regard. But, politics is a peculiar sort of business. And, he's not proven himself particularly adept at it.

It's a shame he had to spend so much money to find that out!

At least ye conservatives out there finally have one candidate you can support to thwart the McCain juggernaut: Mike Huckabee!

Go, Mike, go!

SC Dems hear my prayers!!

I can't believe Barack Hussein Obama clobbered Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina primary today!

Isn't that awesome?!

I hope the Dumbocrats in a lot of other states follow suit in their upcoming primaries and caucuses, too!!

I would just LOVE to see this guy win the nomination and proceed to the general election this November.

He will make Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis look like they were serious contenders.

Remember them? No?! Well, I suppose that's my point!!

Notes on the South Carolina primary

Well, the final tally was McCain 33% to Huckabee 30%. Pretty tight race.

A couple of observations for those of you who are unfamiliar with the process in the Palmetto State.

1. They let ANY registered voter participate in today's "Republican" primary, including Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, Communists, Fascists, Monarchists, Anarchists . . . whatever. Didn't matter. As long as you had a valid registration.

2. A large chunk of McCain voters were from these non-Republicans. So, he did to Huckabee in SC what he did to Romney in NH, thwarting true Republican opinion by encouraging outsiders to muddy the waters. I give him credit where credit is due, but his successes in these two states were not won with a majority of Republican votes.

Ok, enough sour grapes. It is clear the GOP is still engaged in some soul-searching here. Who will be our standard bearer in '08 is still an open question. But, I don't think there can be any question that John McCain should NOT be that person.

* He voted against the Bush tax cuts of 2002.

* He partnered with liberal Russ Feingold to legislate against free speech.

* He advocates pardoning 10,000,000 illegal immigrants.

* He was one of the Keating Five.

Let's hope Floridians and Super Tuesday voters keep these facts in mind when they go vote. I think some Republicans-only primaries will yield some truer results of what the party faithful actually believe.

And, I'm still hopefully optimistic that verdict will be Mike Huckabee!

Michigan Smishigan

Was anyone really sitting on the edge of their seats yesterday, waiting with baited breath to find out who was going to win the Michigan primaries?

No.

Not on either side of the political aisle.

On the Democrat side, old Hillary was the only top tier candidate to even have her name on the ballot. (And, even then, 45% decided to send delegates to their national convention who were NOT COMMITTED to her.)

In the GOP, it was a foregone conclusion that native son Mitt Romney, whose dad was a three term governor of Michigan, would get the most votes. It turned out to be a "whopping" 39%.

Yawn.

What is exciting, however, is that both fields are still wide open, and we face the prospect of two brokered conventions.

Now, ye socks, turn your attention to South Carolina, where on Saturday only the Republicans will be voting. (The Dems take their turn a week later.) My prediction is Mike Huckabee wins. Handily. And, Fred Thompson will be forced out of the race.

What we're going to have is a delegate "round robin" going on, in which candidates have regional appeal. Huckabee in the Bible Belt. Romney in the country club states. McCain in places with lots of Independent voters. And, Giuliani . . . MAYBE . . . in the big urban centers.

That's a 3 or 4 candidate stew, whereby nobody is going to secure a majority of delegates to claim the nomination outright. And, they'll have to resort to some "horse trading."

But, that's just me. Draw your own conclusions.

Huck wins in Iowa!

Caucus Day in Iowa!

Remember, all ye Republican socks out in Iowa, today is the day!

Please show up at your local precinct at 7pm tonight and caucus for Mike Huckabee to become the next President of the United States!

Oh, and to all ye Democrat socks out there: It's not too late to show your dissatisfaction with your party's current crop of candidates by just staying home tonight!!

Huck and Jay

In case ye socks have an early bedtime, let me re-cap Mike Huckabee's stellar performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

These two guys have known each other for a while, ever since Leno began doing jokes about the governor's mansion in Arkansas when Huckabee was living there. The real mansion was undergoing renovations, so the Huckabee family was literally living in a mobile home.

Or, as Huck pointed out, it was a "manufactured home." And, come on, it was a triple wide, so it was high-dollar.

This self-deprecating humor makes the former Arkansas governor the most likeable candidate in the race. As Jay pointed out, people see him as "the guy they work with rather than the guy who laid them off!"

He even asked Huckabee if he thought his guitar playing skills were good enough to do a set with The Tonight Show Band.

"No," said the humble Huck. "But, I'd like to do it anyway!"

He's always been good with one-liners like that. And, that's probably why he was chosen as a guest during the writers strike. He comes up with his own great material!

The best one of the night, though, came when Leno asked him which Democrat he'd most like to go up against in the general election this November.

Huck's response, "I'd rather all of them drop out of the race and let me have a clear shot all the way to the White House!"

Gotta love him!

Go, Mike, go!