Democrats should fear Huckabee.  He's not affiliated with any scandals, can bring the "values voters" to the polls (they'll stay home otherwise), and he really isn't a bad guy and won't be easy to demonize.

Based on the past four hours, a link from the Huckabee blog (we got one for coverage of a Republican event on Iowa Independent) is probably worth about 1,000 visits.  Not quite Ron Paul numbers, but it's more than any other campaign blog that we have been linked by recently.

In contrast, about two months ago when we got linked by Huckabee's blog, it was worth little to nothing.

I doubt that Huck will make it to the top, but I've had him pegged as VP for the GOP since the first debate.

I thought Romney would win the Presidency, but now I'm not so sure.

Huckabee's campaign has made admirable progress with minimal funds, he might just be able to catch a wave yet:

After weeks of steadily rising numbers, he had just inched past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. More popular than Romney! And all this love was turning into gold. Huckabee staffers were raising more money than ever. They even had to hire more people to answer the phones, the candidate said between songs, beaming at his audience.

Since Oct. 1, the campaign had raised more than $800,000 -- small change for some of the other candidates perhaps, but significant bucks for one who has had trouble breaking out of the second tier.

Louise Roug - LA Times 28 Oct 07

He is staying focussed on Iowa but getting national exposure from there.  While Undecided is in third place the race is still open.

I do not see Huckabee getting the Republican nomination. Assuredly, he has some electoral appeal, and yes, he actually governed Arkansas with a certain amount of centrist moderation. But mark my words: "no new taxes" will be the mantra for Republican candidates in 2008. That mantra is the Republican party plan, and Huckabee at the top of the ticket would completely undermine that plan. Heck, the Club for Growth has taken out ads against him for his ostensible tax sins.  

Additionally, contrary to what some are suggesting, I do not think Huckabee is telegenic. Just the opposite: I think he appears wild eyed, and frankly, a bit scary in TV interviews. The camera does not like him. When you combine his wild eyed look with the off-key policies (a national consumption tax?), and intemperate remarks (abortion holocaust?) he often makes, I just don't see him getting the nomination.

The depth of the antipathy toward Huckabee in the "no taxes" wing of the Republican party can be seen in op/ed pieces like this one from last week's WSJ.

Sure, there's movement toward Huckabee. And I think he could experience a dramatic final-week surge prior to the GOP Iowa caucuses given his own personal characteristics and the early 3-way nuclear  attack ad exchange likely between Romney, Giuliani, Thompson.  However, there's no plausible scenario in which Huckabee wins the nomination. He has as many ideological enemies as he does acolytes, and he flat -out does not have the money to compete. Lastly, Reagan notwithstanding, the nice-guy charisma that the media loves about Huckabee isn't nearly as appealing to the GOP base. Giuliani's and McCain's irascibility  is more their style.

He does have enemies in the business community so thats a huge obstacle. He also has no foreign policy experience. Most importantly however, is the fact that he is a total nutjob on domestic issues.

And that's what makes him so threatening. He's got wicked conservative credentials (well, on social issues at least), but he doesn't come across as angry. He's as conservative as a Sam Brownback, but comes across as a nice guy. He's also got a great story to tell with his weight loss, and how folks have to take responsibility...

He's certainly beatable, and I don't know that he's got the chance to move up fast enough, but he would certainly be an interesting candidate to face.

and a good bet right now is for Huckabee to win the GOP caucus in Iowa.  Then the money people in the GOP will try and take him out by supporting Rudy. That said in a low-tunout GOP primary race nationawide I'd take the less funded grassroots candidate against the business people. If Huckabee wins Iowa, Romney is mortally wounded and Fred Thompson's southern support goes to huck, if Rudy then wins NH the race will be seen as Huck v/s Rudy and Huck can easily win.

Well at least the Republican race is looking to be interesting. Really there are five guys with some kind of shot at taking the nom. I would rate Huckabee as the least likely of those but he must have at least the same chance at winning the GOP nom as Edwards does of winning the Democratic one.

Huckabee still has to knock out Thompson in the south. I know Thompson seems like a complete joke to anyone who has -- well, seen him speak for more than two seconds. But you could almost interpret his campaign strategy as one designed to keep Huckabee from winning. He is focusing his money and his (very limited) energies on a few Southern states where his name recognition and his absence of campaign appearances (ie no one will see just how bad he is) will get him a good chunk of the vote. Huckabee is also stubbornly running on issues like health care that are designed to split the grassroots conservatives between the anti-government die-hards and the ones who want some government help in hard times. And just to throw in my favourite quote on Huckabee from Ramesh Ponnuru, from the National Review: "He seems to combine some of Pat Buchanan's bad ideas with some of George W. Bush's. He's the protectionist compassionate conservative. No thanks."