...and he does it oh so painfully...

Frontpage of NYTimes.com:

Huckabee Sees Pakistan as Reason for Border Fence

Yep, it's as cringe-worthy as it sounds.

Mike Huckabee has had a string of foreign policy gaffes, the most recent of which was his apparent ignorance to the fact that Musharraf had lifted martial law in Pakistan. On the domestic front, Huckabee clearly sees his biggest vulnerability among Republican voters as immigration, since after waxing compassionately at a debate about treating the children of illegal immigrants like human beings, he embraced the endorsement of Jim Gilchrist of the Minutemen and tried to portray himself as tough on immigration.

So, what happens when Mike Huckabee desperately tries to prove he's credible foreign affairs AND tough on illegal immigration all at once?

You get this train wreck:

On Thursday night he told reporters in Orlando, Fla.: "We ought to have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our borders and particularly to make sure if there's any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country."

...we have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all other nationalities except those immediately south of the border," he told reporters in Pella. "And in light of what is happening in Pakistan it ought to give us pause as to why are so many illegals coming across these borders." [...]

"The fact is that the immigration issue is not so much about people coming to pick lettuce or make beds, it's about someone coming with a shoulder-fired missile," he said.

Wow. Not only did Huckabee in one fell swoop eclipse Tom Tancredo in the immigrant fear mongering department but he also showed his continued ignorance, as it was revealed later that, as NY Times informs us:

In fact, far more illegal immigrants come from the Philippines, Korea, China and Vietnam, according to recent estimates from the Department of Homeland Security.

How could Huckabee make such a mistake? FoxNews reported that Huckabee cited the CIA as a source but later clarified that it was in fact a Denver Post article.

So not ready for prime time.

Can we stop pretending that this guy has a shot at the nomination, please and focus on the ones most likely to win this thing, Huckabee's current lead in Iowa notwithstanding: Romney and McCain? As I see it, we should all be doing what we can to ensure it's the former.