Crist campaign is toast

Our illustrious governor was twice burned yesterday.

And, that's not a tasteless reference to his famously perennial suntan.

Ye socks who have followed his inexplicable career to date have no doubt noticed his predilection for hitching his wagon to greater stars in the political universe.

Remember in the rosy days following the dawn of the ObamaNation how he gleefully embraced the disaster-in-waiting otherwise known as "the stimulus plan?!"

More recently, he's been pimping whatever conservative credentials he thought he had left by invoking the name of his supposed-mentor Connie Mack.

I can only imagine how he felt when his hug buddy paid a whopping 27 minutes of lip service to the future of Florida's Space Coast. It was painfully clear the real presidential focus was on getting away from Cape Canaveral as quickly as possible to attend a big Democratic fundraiser down in Miami. His announced policy shift essentially left the country's space program in shambles, and thousands more Floridians worrying about their jobs.

And, as for Mack, he walked away from Crist's senate campaign in the wake of his veto of the education bill.

Whispers abound this morning that Mitt Romney will soon be joining Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani in endorsing Crist's primary opponent Marco Rubio.

Methinks in the past 24 hours or so that Charlie may have discovered just how few real allies he has.

So, could he seriously be considering a run as an independent?!

Stranger things have happened, I suppose. I mean, this IS Florida, after all!!

And the #2 spot goes to . . .

One of the perils of selecting a runningmate from a pool of former rivals is that there are going to be plenty of critical quotes available.



Remember George Bush's accusation of "voodoo economics" back in 1980?



Well, here we go again . . .



I hope the presumptive Republican nominee has learned that lesson and there is less of this nonsense I've been hearing lately about Mitt Romney.

A tax by any other name . . .

In case ye socks need any further evidence that Orlando is still a tourism-based economy, I submit the example of the ongoing brouhaha over the so-called "Travel Promotion Act" that is not only working its way thru the halls of Congress but is also being debated just about everywhere in this little corner of heaven.

Essentially, if passed, the act would tack a $10 FEE (read TAX) on every international traveler who dares to book a flight to the good old USofA.

Then, our friendly (and oh-so-trustworthy) federal government will use 50% of the proceeds to mount an annual ad campaign with a projected budget of $200,000,000.

None of the news accounts I have seen or read seem to know where or how the other 50% is being spent. Evidently, it will be eaten up by the typical Washington wastefulness that has made Beltway bureaucrats the perennial darlings of their fellow citizens.

Now, I know folks like Mitt Romney have been trying to disguise TAX increases by calling them FEES for quite some time now.

But, since when is it the job of the federal government to pimp our tourist magnets all over the world?!

Note, the junior senator from Illinois (and heir apparent to John Kerry, Al Gore, and Michael Dukakis) has signed on as a co-sponsor of this piece of trash legislation.

Surprised?

Don't be. Most socialists live for this sort of tripe. Take money out of the private sector. Waste half of it in DC. Then dole it out as needed to increase the power and influence of the central government.

I say, let the market decide.

And, surprisingly, so does John McCain in this instance.

Keep all of this in mind come November, ok?!

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!

Super Tuesday Song Dedications

To Mitt Romney: "West Virginia Mountain Mama," by John Denver. And, if you'd like a little cheese with that whine, we'll see what we can do for you in that other W state of Wisconsin . . .

To John McCain: "Georgia on My Mind," by Ray Charles. Close, but no cigar.

To Wolf Blitzer: "Tennessee River," by Alabama. Aren't you glad you didn't call one state before all the precincts came in?!

To all the prognosticators (especially Gloria Borger) who said there was no other alternative for conservative Republicans: "Sweet Home Alabama." I'll let them choose their own cheesy cover band.

To Hillary: The N'Sync song of your choice, since you look like Lance Bass in drag.

And, as the results tonight looked so good for Mike Huckabee, I'd also like to send this one out to all my Cajun friends who will be voting this weekend: "Louisiana Saturday Night!"

Get down your fiddle, and take down your bow, y'all!

Reagan's Legacy

Well, the GOP candidates got together again tonight, this time at the Reagan Library out in California. And, yes, Nancy was there, along with the Governator.

Unfortunately, the CNN moderators encouraged the two "leading" contenders to drag the tone of the debate into the gutter. It was truly shameful and, in my opinion, terribly disrespectful to the memory of the Gipper.

The only thing anyone can give John McCain credit for is staying on message. No matter what the question was, his canned answers always came back around to the Iraq surge. Health care? Surge. Economy? Surge. Leadership? Surge.

The other thing he did, with an annoying smirk on his face, was continually bait Mitt Romney about his position on . . . you guessed it . . . the surge.

Unfortunately, despite his much-touted credentials and reputation for a suave demeanor, Romney took the bait. He was visibly upset by McCain's attacks. So much for unflappable. Kinda makes you wonder how he'd react to baiting by Iranian, Venezuelan, Cuban, or North Korean "leaders."

What was particularly annoying to me as a Huckabee supporter was how much time and attention the moderators gave to these two and their bad behavior. They virtually ignored the fact that Huck (and Ron Paul) were on the stage.

However, Huckabee did steal the show right at the end. Anderson Cooper asked the question of all four men, "If Ronald Reagan were alive today, would he endorse you?"

Well, Romney thought he would certainly have gained the Gipper's endorsement, because he was (like Reagan) a governor who would approach problems with an outside-the-beltway mentality. Fairly good point.

McCain claimed he deserved the endorsement because he was "a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution." Pompous to say the least.

Everybody's favorite Libertarian shared stories of Reagan campaigning for him in Texas in the 70s and 80s, and their common love of the gold standard.

Then, Huckabee got the last word.

And, he hit a home run.

He told Cooper, and everyone else for that matter, that we shouldn't engage in conjecture about who Reagan would endorse.

Rather, Huckabee astutely challenged his opponents to join him in endorsing Reagan's ideals. They include lower taxes, smaller government, strong defense, the sanctity of human life, and an optimistic vision of America's future.

That response brought down the house!

It was realy cool to see Ah-nold jump up out of his seat as Huckabee's answer ended what had been a bitterly cantakerous evening. I wish he'd had a microphone on him so we could hear what he said to Huck, but there was some back-slapping a big grin, and a fairly long conversation.

I didn't see Schwarzenegger exhibit that kind of body language with the other candidates.

Kinda makes you wonder why the rumor mills say he's going to endorse somebody else?

Oh, well, time to hit the sack.

In the mean time: GO, MIKE, GO!

Boca debate

In case you missed it, the Republican candidates for president met tonight down in Boca Raton for another debate. And, once again, Mike Huckabee put in a solid performance.

In light of recent event, it was no surprise that the primary topic was economics. And, Governor Huckabee reminded his rivals, the moderators, and the crowd, that he had raised red flags at a similar debate up in Dearborn, Michigan, several months ago. It's as true today as it was when he said it: we need(ed) to look at the totality of the economy, not just those who are (were) prospering.

The fact that everyone is now following his lead and discussing economic matters is not helpful to someone like John McCain, who admits he much prefers to discuss things like national defense and the War in Iraq. Sorry, Mr. Senator, the next president needs to be a little more multi-faceted. And, if you cannot even field an economic question tossed to you by that whack-job Ron Paul, you don't need to be making plans to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was almost embarassing to watch McCain as he flubbed his way thru his response to Paul, grasping for words, repeating phrases, even looking confused. Essentially, he claims he will turn over economic policy to a team of trusted advisors he has cultivated during his very long career in DC. Great. Just what we DON'T need, more inside-the-Beltway "solutions." I guess this is why McCain is every Democrat's favorite Republican . . .

Ironically, he thought he'd try to play hard ball with Huckabee, by grilling him on the Fair Tax. What a mistake that was. The governor is so well-versed on that topic, he could recite all the nuts and bolts in his sleep. And, his expertise only highlighted McCain's shortcomings on economic subjects.

Bottom line, I give the candidates the following grades in the order they appeared on stage (left to right):

- Romney: C-, he had no major gaffes, but appeared plastic as usual and was disturbingly evasive when questioned about how much of his personal money he's using in his attempt to buy the nomination.

- McCain: D+ for doddering, his only saving grace was his rebuke of the New York Times and its savage attack on Rudy Giuliani.

- Giuliani: I for incomplete, he failed to close the deal with Florida voters, but he didn't completely blow it. He better do something on the campaign trail, or he's out of the race after Tuesday.

- Paul: F, this guy isn't even a Republican. He even admitted having been the Libertarian party's presidential nominee in the last election.

- Huckabee: B+, he appeared both knowledgeable and affable, and would have earned an A if he hadn't distanced himself from Chuck Norris! (Although, the ensuing exchange with McCain was without a doubt the most humorous moment in an otherwise dull forum.)

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.

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!!

It'll cure what ails ya

I'm still battling a sinus infection down here.

This morning, despite the pain and discomfort, I was determined not to let it slow me down and keep me home bound for another weekend. So, I forced myself to drive downtown to a Huckabee campaign meeting. (Big news: the state hq is supposed to be opening right here in Orlando on Monday morning!!) But, about an hour and a half into things, a coughing fit overtook me, and I had to make a hasty exit. Kinda embarassing, actually, because I know my flight to the door distracted the speaker. Oh, well, hopefully she's amongst the socks reading this and will now understand the reasons and accept my apologies . . .

Anyway, the coughing subsided enough by the time I got back to Apopka, that I was able to run in to the Winn Dixie to pick up a few things to soothe my aches and pains. You know, chicken noodle soup, etc.

But, if you really want to know what is making me feel even better than all that store-bought stuff, it is the Republican forum they just had on FoxNews tonight.

After seeing it, I will not be surprised on Tuesday if Huck doesn't lap Romney and come in second up in New Hampshire. Old Mitt is really wounded after Iowa, and McCain (among others) really let him have it.

I particularly liked it when McCain laughingly acknowledged the Mittster as the "candidate of change" in the Republican field. Not because he's bringing new ideas to the table, or anything like that. Rather, because he changes his convictions on things like the sanctity of life depending on what audience he is addressing . . . that left the former Massachusetts governor stone-faced. Just beautiful!!

And, of course, Mike Huckabee delivered another stellar performance.

So, hopefully tomorrow I'll feel well enough to finally take down the Christmas tree . . . we'll see!

Huck wins in Iowa!

Mitt Romney: You can't buy the truth, you can't even rent it!

It is no secret that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has been outspending Mike Huckabee by a margin of 20 to 1 in his efforts to buy the presidency by winning the Iowa caucuses.

And, rather than using all that money to tell the folks in Iowa why they should caucus FOR him, he's spending it all on spreading lies about Huckabee.

So, let's begin to set the record straight:

1. As Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee signed a bill in 1999 that doubled sentences for production and distribution of methamphetamines. In fact, they were FOUR TIMES longer than sentences imposed in Massachusetts under Romney's "leadership." Huckabee is tough on crime.

2. Arkansas' state budget did increase during Huckabee's 10+ years as governor, but that increase was less than 4%--a rate even the New York Times has acknowledged as astonishingly low.

3. Mike Huckabee actually CUT overall taxes in Arkansas. There were a few examples when court orders and a public referendum forced increases to improve education and infrastructure. But, Romney conveniently "forgets" the 94 other taxes that Huckabee cut, including: elimination of the marriage penalty, indexing for inflation, and doubling the childcare tax credit.

4. Romney actually RAISED the tax burden in Massachusetts. He did so by calling his increases "FEES" instead of "TAXES," merely a matter of semantics, perhaps. But, it cost his constituents an extra half-billion on top of what was already one of the highest rates of taxation in the country.

Romney plays fast and loose with the truth, and not just when it comes to attacking Mike Huckabee. Notice his recent gaffe, in which he claimed his father had marched alongside Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Era. What a whopper that was, and it was uncomfortable watching him try to squirm his way out of it when the media held him to account.

With everything going on in the world today, what America needs more than anything in its new president is someone they can trust. And, given Romney's pattern of lying to the folks in Iowa, I don't see how anyone could trust him in the Oval Office.

I am not alone in hoping caucus goers reject Romney's lies and, instead, choose to support the only candidate on either side of the aisle who has the executive experience to govern this country and the honesty we should demand from our leaders: Mike Huckabee.

Go, Mike, go!

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!

Amplified Words

Quite a few folks on the campaign trail are learning the meaning behind the old adage, "Choose your words wisely." When you're on the national stage, everything you say is amplified.

The primary example is our favorite presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who recently submitted to a interview with the unbiased folks over at the New York Times. During their long conversation, they tried to bait him into talking about rival Mitt Romney's religion. Fortunately, the former Arkansas governor is a little too savvy to be drawn into that kind of discussion. But, he did offhandedly ask a question that he should have kept to himself and googled it later: "Don't Mormon's believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

Well, the Times isn't planning on printing the entire interview until this Sunday's edition. But, they have been gleefully spreading Huckabee's out-of-context question all over the media. Fortunately, the governor had the opportunity during yesterday's final Iowa debate to cross the stage and apologize to Romney in person in advance for any offense.

My thing is it was a parenthetical question Huckabee was really asking himself. But, now that he's in the "big leagues," he needs to be more careful about his mutterings. The media (not to mention his adversaries) are going to be looking for ANY reason to pounce on him, and he shouldn't be giving them the opportunities. And, the upside of this (which I hope our Mormon friends will appreciate) is that it has given their church a higher national profile, and will result in a lot of non-Mormons doing some googling of their own to find out more about them. I would hope they would welcome people asking for more info.

Ok, that unpleasantness aside, there was an even more awesome example of amplified words out in Austin, Texas, yesterday!

It seems Governor Rick Perry, who made the mistake of endorsing Rudy Giuliani back in October, personally filed the former NYC mayor's papers to put him on the state's primary ballot. While doing this, a reporter asked him about the potential impact the next President of the United States will have on the Supreme Court. Here is his EXACT response:

"The issue becomes very, very clear to me from the standpoint of who I want to support, and it is MIKE HUCKABEE."

That's right! I think Governor Perry let his true preference slip! Officially, he is still somewhat obligated to back Rudy. But, in his heart of hearts, I think we know who he really supports!

Or, maybe, we should give him the benefit of the doubt . . . sometimes, folks just slip-up under the glaring media spotlight . . . nobody's perfect.

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!

The Shining Star of Shingle Creek

In case you missed tonight's GOP debate here in Orlando, here's a re-cap.

Once again, Governor Mike Huckabee outdid everyone else in the crowded field, looking like the only adult on the stage.

As usual, the debate moderators started things off by focusing on Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, almost encouraging them to begin their tired old personal attacks on one another. But, when they finally turned their focus to Governor Huckabee, he got thunderous applause and cheers for this line:

"I'm not interested in fighting these guys. I want to fight FOR the American people!"

He further elevated the tone of the debate by quoting the Declaration of Independence. He reminded the audience of the inalienable rights enumerated in that venerable document are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness . . . but, LIFE comes FIRST.

The one statement Huckabee made last night that is most likely to stick in folks' minds was his response to a question on health care. He argued that we do NOT have a health care "system," but rather a health care "crisis." He cited the fact that we spend 80% of our 2 Trillion health care dollars each year on chronic disease when we should be focusing more on prevention. And, he warned that more and more Boomers are enrolling in Medicaid/Medicare, adding to our costs.

He quipped, "When all the old hippies find out they get free drugs, wait to see what that costs us!"

Always quick with a good line, Huckabee became somber at one moment to remind Republicans there is one subject that just isn't funny. And, that is the possibility of Hillary Clinton becoming president. If that happens, he pointed out, our taxes would go up, our health care would be taken over by the federal government, and our military morale would plummet when we need them to continue to confront Islamofascism.

If, like me, you agree the prospect of another Clinton presidency is not funny, I encourage you to visit Mike Huckabee's website and support his campaign to make sure that bad joke doesn't become a reality:

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/

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.