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.

SC Republican Debate Re-cap

For ye socks who couldn't stay up late enough to watch last night's Republican debate up in South Carolina, yours truly sacrificed precious hours of sleep to provide you with the following observations--sorted by candidate:

1. Ron Paul - Why is this guy even on the stage? He's not a Republican. He's a Libertarian. And, a kooky one at that.

2. Mitt Romney - Poor guy. He spent all that money for nothing, and apparently he's lost all the fire in his belly. He barely showed up for the debate. If he doesn't win his native Michigan next week, look for him to pull out of the race altogether.

3. Rudy Giuliani - By sitting on the sidelines so long, he has rendered himself irrelevant. Pinning his hopes on Florida, where we don't even vote until 1/29, was a foolish plan. He keeps dropping in the polls down here, precipitously. He'll be gone by the end of the month.

4. Fred Thompson - Wow, can you smell the desperation?! He came out with both guns a-blazin'! But, he just came off as cantankerous and mean. Plus, it's awfully easy for someone like him who has NO EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE to criticize those who do . . .

5. John McCain - American hero, I agree. Best adjective for him: venerable. He deserves all of our thanks and admiration. But, his time is long past. He appeared so disoriented at times, even muttering to moderator Brit Hume about the confusing lights on the stage . . .

6. Mike Huckabee - He bore Thompson's attacks like a gentleman, and defended his 10.5 years as a governor with statesmanlike efficiency. I was also glad to see him rebuke Ron Paul, something nobody else on the stage had the guts to do. In a word: presidential.

I hope this analysis will help ye socks in making up your primary choices, particularly those of you in the Palmetto State . . . and you know who you are!!

Florida Loves Huckabee!

That is according to the latest Rasmussen Poll which found GOP voters in the state support the following candidates in the 1/29/08 primary:

27% Huckabee (+18% since November's poll)
23% Romney (+4%)
19% Giuliani (-8%)
9% Thompson (-7%)
6% McCain (-4%)

So, what do these numbers tell us? Is McCain losing people to Romney? Is Huckabee drawing support away from everyone else? Who knows?

What the numbers do tell us is the momentum each candidate enjoys (or doesn't) in the Sunshine State. And, clearly, Mike Huckabee is outshining everyone else. Keep in mind, he was only registering 3% support down here as recently as September. So, for him to rise to the top of the pack in just three months is truly an amazing statement about his campaign. And, I'd like to think this little corner of the blogosphere contributed a little bit to the trajectory.

The other piece of news out of the Huckabee camp today was Ed Rollins is joining the team as National Director. Political junkies will remember that name as belonging to the man who orchestrated the most successful presidential campaign EVER back in 1984, when his strategies earned Ronald Reagan the electoral votes of 49 states. (Only his never-to-be-mentioned opponent's home state of Minnesota and the wayward District of Columbia fell to the Dems that year.)

Expect both the poll numbers and Ed Rollins to be discussed tonight when Huckabee and his buddy Chuck Norris appear on The O'Reilly Factor. (8pm on FoxNews, replayed at 11pm.)

Go, Mike, go!

3 Reasons Why Mike Huckabee's Poll Numbers Are Rising

In case you missed the latest poll out of Des Moines, our favorite presidential candidate now leads the Republican field:

Mike Huckabee = 29%
Mitt Romney = 24%
Rudy Giuliani = 13%
Fred Thompson = 9%
John McCain = 7%
Ron Paul = 7%
Tom Tancredo = 6%
Undecided = 4%

"So, where did this guy come from?" That's what a lot of lost socks are asking nowadays, having apparently missed all the posts in this dryer over the last several months.

The momentum that put him on top has been building for quite some time, and it's due to three primary reasons, in my humble estimation:

1. He has a sense of humor. That's a rarity amongst politicos nowadays. I mean, can you even imagine someone like Hillary Clinton making jokes about herself?! So, the governor's self-effacing manner makes him stand out in the crowd.

2. He knows how to govern. He can speak in confidently and in clearly understood terms about how he made government work for the people of Arkansas while he was governor, and how he'd like to translate that to the federal level. More importantly, he approaches public policy problems from an optimists' viewpoint--something we haven't seen since (dare I invoke the name?!) Ronald Reagan.

3. He is a unifyer. I know that sounds somewhat trite. But, he's not campaigning to simply beat-up on the other guys. Rather, he's trying to rally folks to his message of coming together to tackle the myriad challenges that face all Americans, regardless of partisan stripe.

The bottom line is, you don't have to be a Republican to like Mike. I've given you the three big reasons, as I see them. But, I'm sure if you stack him up against "the other guys," you'll come up with a few dozen more yourselves. So, give him a look, ye socks. A lot of folks in Iowa already are . . . if you believe the polls!

Huckabee wins St. Petersburg debate!

Apparently, I was not alone in that assessment. The Florida Chamber of Commerce polled the audience last night, and came up with the following figures when they asked who won:

MIKE HUCKABEE - 44%
Rudy Giuliani - 18%
Mitt Romney - 13%
John McCain - 10%
Fred Thompson - 5%
Ron Paul - 4%
Duncan Hunter - 1%
Tom Tancredo - 1%
Undecided - 4%

The most fun to be had, though, was observing the political pundits' response to Huck's great performance.

Andrew Sullivan over at The Atlantic apparently couldn't understand how someone could be so comfortable talking about his faith in public, and arrogantly dismissed it as "religious schtick."

CNN's analyst Jeffrey Toobin gave Huck credit for being the best debater, but went on to say he "lacked seriousness" for pledging to abolish the IRS. Well, Mr. Toobin, he is indeed serious about that. It's called "The Fair Tax." Look into it.

Anyway, if you want to get an unfiltered view of the debate, you can watch our favorite presidential candidate as he makes his rounds on the cable news networks tonight:

4:15pm - CNN - "The Situation Room," with Wolf Blitzer.
5:00pm - MSNBC - "Hardball," with Chris Matthews.
10:00pm - FoxNews - "On the Record," with Greta van Susteren.

Huckabee beats Hillary

That could indeed be the headline you read in your local paper next November, if the most recent Zogby Poll is accurate.

They matched up all the Republican front runners agains the presumptive Democratic nominee and came up with the following responses.

John McCain beat her 42% to 38% - margin of 4%

Rudy Giuliani beat her 43% to 40% - margin of 3%

Mitt Romney beat her 43% to 40% - margin of 3%

Fred Thompson beat her 44% to 40% - margin of 4%

MIKE HUCKABEE BEAT HER 44% to 39% - MARGIN OF 5%

That's right, while all Republicans should be encouraged, it was the former Arkansas governor (and this dryer's favorite candidate) who did the best in a head-to-head match-up.

Shouldn't be too surprising to you socks from Arkansas. After all, Mike Huckabee has had to go up against the Clinton machine in every political campaign he's run. He knows how to beat them.

And, the polling data indicates he is our best shot to beat 'em again!

GOP debate in Michigan

I know it was hard to catch the big tete-a-tete up in Michigan today, because the boneheads who planned it evidently thought 4pm on a Tuesday was a convenient time for most Americans to be sitting in front of their tv's.

Fortunately, they are replaying it later tonight on MSNBC. But, for you socks whose schedules or lack of cable will prevent you from catching it the second time around, here's my very astute and much-sought-after analysis:

As usual, Mike Huckabee looked like the adult sitting at the kids' table during a family Christmas dinner. The rest of the crowded field . . .

Mitt Romney - he's the GOP version of John Kerry--suave, Massachusetts politician with more money than he knows how to spend. We can't let this guy buy the presidency any more than we could allow Kerry in '04.

Rudy Giuliani - come on. He was without a doubt a good mayor of New York City. But the rest of the country is not the Big Apple. And, arguing with Romney against the line-item veto is the best he's got to offer . . . fuh-gedda-bout-it!

Fred Thompson - too little, too late. He may be an actor, but the Gipper he is definitely not. Go back to the small screen and I'll promise to campaign for you to win an Emmy or something.

John McCain - old, tired, uninspiring. His time has already come and gone.

Ron Paul - it's okay to be a conservative, even a libertarian who dresses up like one. But, you don't have to be mad about EVERYTHING. Too shrill. Tone it down.

Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo . . . uh, whatever. You are, collectively, the Republican version of Dennis Kucinich.

It's a crowded field, yes. But, I love seeing Huckabee standing shoulder to shoulder with these guys. It makes the choice even more clear, whether the media wants to continue to ignore it. Mike Huckabee needs to be our next president.

Apple core! Baltimore! Who's your friend?!

Did you ever play that game as a child?

Anyway, if you were playing it in Baltimore tonight, the answer would NOT be Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, or Fred Thompson.

Each of those supposed "top tier" candidates failed to appear at the PBS broadcast of debates hosted by Tavis Smiley in the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University--an historically black school.

And, with justification, many in the black community are taking offense. As former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele told his fellow Marylanders in the introduction, it has been far too long that the GOP and African Americans have "stood at arm's length." The divide needs to end. But, that's not going to happen if we follow the lead of the "top tier" guys.

I will point out that Mike Huckabee was in Baltimore to participate in the debate and addressed important issues to minority voters like unemployment, criminal justice, and health care.

Remember, he's the same guy who has spoken to groups as divergent as union conventioneers and values voters right here in the great State of Florida.

That's what we need to see MORE of in our "top tier" candidates: uniters, not dividers.

I hope I'm not alone in my disgust with the status quo. I yearn for the election of a president next year who is unafraid of speaking to ALL Americans--not just those whose special interests have traditionally supported his/her party with cash or votes.

So far, in my opinion, only Mike Huckabee fills that bill.

Let's revive the Lincoln-Douglas debates!

I just learned of a great idea being tossed around by Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson.

Actually, credit is due to Newt Gingrich for putting the idea forward in the first place.

But, Huckabee and Thompson are the first two presidential candidates to seriously entertain the notion of a good old-fashioned debate.

Enough with the crowded stages and media-friendly soundbites.

Let's have two candidates actually engage each other on the issues facing our country.

Let's have a serious DISCUSSION for once.

If you agree with me and would like to see a series of Lincoln-Douglas style debates between these two great public speakers, I encourage you to co-sign the letter found at this link:

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=344&CommentPage=1#Comments

Huckabee wins Iowa debate!

It was a crowded stage in Iowa this morning, reflecting the fact that Republicans still have no clear front-runner in the race to choose a successor to El Presidente.

Of course, you know who my pick is: Mike Huckabee.

But, he is still struggling to gain that "top tier" status so frequently used by the media to refer to Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain.

Today, he may have broken that trio's grip on the top tier, at least according to one focus group.

Going into the debate, the 29 members of the group were leaning this way: Romney 9, Giuliani 8, Thompson 5, McCain 2, Huckabee 1, others 4.

After the debate, there was a dramatic swing in support: Huckabee 14, Romney 10, Giuliani 3, Thompson 1, and Hunter 1.

That's right. When voters listened to these guys talk, side-by-side, Huckabee's support skyrocketed from 3% to 48%!

I think what won voters over most was Huckabee's criticism of dependance on Middle East oil. Of course, he was speaking in front of an Iowa crowd that, no doubt, would prefer we all abandon oil entirely in favor of corn-based fuel. But, that's beside the point.

What stuck out in my mind the most was Mike's response to George Stephanopoulos when he asked how a Huckabee administration would differ from a Bush administration. He reminded the crowd how he'd governed in Arkansas, and that he always kept a frame hanging on the wall by his desk. Every week or so, he'd put a different picture of some ordinary citizen in the frame. But, here's the kicker: beneath the frame was a label that read "Our Boss." Huckabee did not want anyone in his administration to forget who the boss REALLY is: the people.

Hopefully the people are hearing Huckabee's message beyond Des Moines. Because, when you listen to his message, he stands head and shoulders above the other candidates out there.

Go, Mike, go!

Snipers take aim at rock star

If you need any proof that my favorite GOP presidential contender is on the verge of becoming a "top tier" candidate, take note of the increased sniping he's been forced to endure lately.

I've already dismissed the "Club for Growth" and their idiotic assessment of Mike Huckabee's awesome tenure as Governor of Arkansas. But, they're still trying to label him as a tax-and-spend liberal. What a hoot! The truth is he made tax cuts of historic proportions while in office.

Now, it seems Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, who has presidential ambitions of his own, is trying to label the ordained Baptist minister as anti-Catholic. His accusations stem from an email sent by a fellow appropriately named Tim RUDE from Windsor Heights, Iowa, who claims to be a Huckabee supporter. But, I don't know how anyone could take Sammy B seriously, especially considering Huckabee's campaign manager Chris Saltsman is a Catholic, as are MANY of his pro-life supporters. In fact, there are quite a few who fall into that category right here in the Sunshine State!

Unfortunately, Saltsman has opened a new can of worms in responding to Senator Sam's ridiculous assertions. He inadvertently misspelled the name of the junior senator from Illinois in an email of his own, demonstrating Brownback's own supporters are blatantly demonstrating religious intolerance. He pointed out the "Baptists for Brownback" website and its claims that Hillary Clinton, Barack OSAMA, and Fred Thompson (among others) are "hell bound." Obviously, this was a typo. But, it's still causing something of a stir, and distracting attention from Saltsman's underlying point.

All of this would be regrettable, as it takes focus off Mike Huckabee's unique message that the Republican Party needs not only to hold tightly to its conservative roots but also to become better stewards of the environment and speak out against corporate corruption and greed.

But, I prefer to see the silver lining in all this: the snipers wouldn't be taking aim if Mike wasn't doing something right.

He had an awesome appearance with CBS's Jeff Greenfield on last night's news, coming off as the common man's candidate. They pointed out how his small budget forces him to fly coach on commercial flights while "top tier" candidates have private jets. The silver lining there is that he is in the trenches even when he travels, shaking hands and getting to know the people he wants to serve. And, who knows, maybe it will inspire him to do something about the onerous flight delays, etc., when he's in the White House.

That's right, I said WHEN he's in the White House (not if)!

Go, Mike, go!

Is Michael Moore a covert agent for the GOP?!

You know who Michael Moore is, right? He's the mockumentarian who has come to personify the liberal elite. He essentially blamed President Bush for 9/11 in his last piece of tripe. And, his current masterpiece portrays Fidel Castro's communist regime down in Cuba as home to the world's best health care system.

Isn't this an extreme example of cognitive dissonance?! I mean, this bloated #)*(%#* wants the same federal government that he believes cannot successfully defend our homeland against terrorists to now be put in complete control of our $2 trillion health care system? Somehow, I doubt he sees the irony in his eagerness to socialize 17% of our domestic economy.

Fortunately, Mike Huckabee continues to be the voice of reason. He called Moore on the mat on this issue, pointing out that people from around the world come knocking on America's door when they need specialized medical care. You NEVER hear of anyone from anywhere rushing down to Havana when they're having a major health problem, do you?!

The former Arkansas governor conceded the US health care system does need some significant reform. For example, he cited the staggering statistic that 75% of our current expenditures are on TREATING disease, and suggested perhaps a greater slice of the pie should go to PREVENTING ailments in the first place. Of course, being proactive about our well-being would involve things Moore apparently finds abhorrent like excercise and sensible diet.

I can only hope that Huckabee's debate with Moore will achieve similar results as Fred Thompson enjoyed earlier this year, pushing him into "top tier candidate" status. We need to be hearing more of his sensible approaches to our country's myriad problems. And, if nothing else, the buffoonery of the leftists only gives common-sense people excellent opportunities to highlight their ignorance.

Go, Mike, go! (Mike H, that is . . .)