As I told someone one on another thread.

A person who supports the fair tax will never get elected to the oval office. Democrats obviously oppose it adamantly but most Republicans hate it.

When the WSJ and the Club for Growth are bashing your regressive tax plan you know its doesnt have a chance

Watch this space.  This is an insurgent candidate who is a potential threat to the highly overrated notion that the 2008 election is going to be a walk-through.  And nobody is going to give a toss about his tax plan if he looks like he has momentum.  I have stated many times that I believe the Republican primary campaign is many months behind compared to ours and it is still very early days yet for them.

I wish I had put money on him on InTrade back in February, that's for sure.

I ran a Texas poll last night and Huckabee was up from 7% in June to 13% now. Romney was also up 6, McCain down 5, Thompson down 4, though still leading Giuliani, who was flat (don't tell Trump).

Haven't published yet but I'll have the details at my site later tonight or tomorrow.

One thing with the GOP - lots of gender gaps. Huckabee, Thompson and Paul do much better with men while Giuliani does much better with women. Romney has more balance, but several points better among men. Women are much more likely to be undecided.

I also got a very passionate endorsement from a Ron Paul supporter on my voicemail, but he'll be disappointed to hear that Paul slipped from 6% to 5%.

Is there any doubt that Edwards would beat Romney in places like NC, VA, SC, GA, TN, and OK?

That's the GOP's biggest fear.

Romney versus Edwards.  Romney would more than likely choose Mike Huckabee to try and help with evangelicals and southerners, but Edwards would have a great chance of winning those states against Romney, especially if he runs with Wes Clark.

When Iowa and New Hampshire lose their first-in-the-nation status due to 'primary envy' by all the other states, and we move to the simultaneous 50-state national primary, then all we'll have left will be non-binding straw polls. They'll be hugely important in the future, because actually everyone wants to see some kind of indicators, some tryouts, BEFORE the first big states vote.

Gee, I kinda preferred the good old days when a dozen primaries scattered around the country were enough, and they stretched from late February until early June. Of course, what that schedule lacked, the irredeemable flaw, was that not every state could be first. The same-day national primary will solve that problem. And leave us with Ames.

for McCain and Giuliani not to compete -- while they avoided losing to Romney, they let Huckabee come in second and get good press.  

Well, maybe McCain would have finished behind Huckabee anyway, but I sure think Giuliani would have beat him.

Romney seems to be falter.  If some of these realy states split between the candidates, maybe Huckabee Iowa, Romney NH, Thompson SC, with Giuliani winning the later big states, like CA, FL, NY.  It just seems to me the Republic Part is in disarray.  No one is gravitating to anyone in particular.  If those votes split and Giuliani wins FL, then I think he will be the nom..

As someone else said above- this is why the Democrats can not afford to have the hubris of thinking whoever wins the primary will have an easy time of the general. I say this because Huckabee is likeable and puts a new face on old crappy ideas, but its America, so a new face counts for half the battle. We can not afford to assume we have this wrapped up.

Somehow I just can't believe that someone named 'Huckabee' is ever going to be elected President.

can't help it.  I think he is guinine and respect some of his choice in arkansas - especially post-Katrina.  I'm not going to vote for him, but I have a lot of respect for him... I think him vs. Obama would do a lot for the political dialouge in our country...they both seem fair minded and to have a purpose beyond themselves.

May I make a suggestion to Democrats?

Stop saying that you LIKE one of the Republican candidates. Good God Almighty....do Democrats want to lose?

Here's a clue. Democrats are supposed to tear down the Republican candidates and build up the Democratic candidates. Sheesh. We need to go back to the days of ward bosses to keep everyone in line!

I would also point out that elections are won by the best campaign. There is nothing to indicate that Mike Huckabee has a clue how to run and win a brass knuckle national election.

Who are his strategists? His pollsters? His finance guys? His ad guys? Folks, this is big league baseball. With the exception of a fluke election as a backlash to Watergate, amateurs don't win.

It's kind of bizarre that the love showered to Huckabee by a supposed 'progressive' blog is more than from those right wing corners.

I checked freeper land and redstate, and did not find particular enthusiasm of Huckabee by those wingnuts. Some of his big government idea is definitely a non-starter for their base. I guess that's why he has some 'appeal' here.

I very much doubt Huckabee will win the Republican nomination, but he would certainly be a dangerous candidate in the general if he ever gets there.

As a resident of Arkansas, I would advise you not to take Huckabee too lightly. He is articulate, his speech is "soothing," and he actually has some legitimate "compassionate conservative" ideas ... things that will sound "reasonable" to many of the so-called Reagan Democrats and Independents. Add to that his background as a Baptist preacher and he fits the right-wing's idea of the perfect candidate. Right now, with closeted Repubs like Chris Matthews talking up Huckabee almost nightly and the MSM's desire for a good story, he may have more success than anyone could imagine.  I, like most, don't think he will win the nomination, but if he actually does "catch fire" in the early, small, primaries, he would be a formidable candidate come November of '08. Back in the day, who ever thought a Governor from a small state in the south (Arkansas) could actually become a nominee for president, much less win the general election!

Huck is a lot closer to the Reagan specter than any of the Candidates...In the  R debates so far he is the best speaker...his conservitive consistency is interrupted with things such as a tax hikes....but still way more in line than Rudi or Mitt

Once Thompson fades....and it won't take long..
Huck will take over...

Of course it is hard to predict how any of this will shake out after we bomb Iran...