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Why does Huckabee continue? Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008 By David Sanders As Virginia Republicans prepared to vote Tuesday, polls showed Mike Huckabee closing in on John McCain's lead. But that wasn't the only good news to come out of Virginia before the vote. Paul Weyrich, a conservative icon and former Mitt Romney backer, endorsed Huckabee. Super Tuesday was supposed to make things clearer. McCain became the GOP's eventual nominee - Romney could see it and that's why he suspended his campaign last Thursday. But instead of preparing his campaign for its eventual end, Huckabee ratcheted things up. Friday, the campaign announced James Dobson's coveted endorsement. It had been assumed that the high profile evangelical leader wouldn't wade into the primary contest, but before he endorsed Huckabee, Dobson had made it clear that he wouldn't support McCain under any circumstances. Over the weekend Team Huckabee put out a memo detailing why their guy intended to stay in the race in spite of increasing calls urging him to get out for the good of the party so McCain could begin the difficult work of unifying the fractured GOP base. Saturday morning, Huckabee delivered a rousing speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Eschewing his preferred populist rhetoric, he put on his best face by casting himself as the new torchbearer for Reagan conservatism. By Saturday night, something significant happened as he captured wins in Kansas and Louisiana. His campaign protested the close results from Washington State that showed McCain barely edging him out. Exit polls showed that self-identified conservative voters had given Huckabee a second look as well as a majority of their votes. Before Saturday's vote the thought of Huckabee continuing on sounded like a good idea to the McCain campaign. Remember, as recently as last week Huckabee was accused of colluding with McCain to undercut Romney and both men had shown mutual admiration for each other throughout the campaign. So it was conceivable that as the contest continued, McCain's popularity with voters would increase and Huckabee would do his duty and fade graciously. Those who had assumed that scenario might unfold don't know Mike Huckabee. He'd been angling for a two-man race all along and he finally got one, save Ron Paul. His newfound momentum - especially with conservative voters - troubles many McCain supporters. The Huckabee campaign makes it clear that he will continue campaigning until the Arizona senator lays claim to the 1,191 delegates needed for the nomination. Before Tuesday's vote, Huckabee's 217 delegates paled in comparison to McCain's 723. Of the states left, it's impossible to conceive a plausible scenario in which Huckabee wins, at least numerically speaking. Ever the egalitarian, Huckabee's new message is that the GOP contest isn't a coronation, adding that voters in other states deserve to have their voices heard. In him, most see the polished politician whose giftedness, obvious nearly every time he opens his mouth, has enabled him to overcome built-in disadvantages - low name identification and weak fundraising. It's a great story. But from Day 1, the Huckabee campaign hasn't just been about running for president. It has also been a means by which to advance his career and relevance. Hefty speaking fees, handsome book deals and perhaps his own television show all lie ahead. So why should he drop out when momentum is now shifting his way, even though math proves he can't win? Well that's easy. There is still so much at stake. ----- Fixing a finer point In last week's column about the severance tax, I wrote that gas companies had "poured billions of dollars into the Arkansas economy." My denomination was wrong. Instead of "billions of dollars," I should have written "hundreds of millions of dollars." ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
