HUCKABEE RIDES ON

I don't know whether to feel like a traitor or like St. Peter who denied knowledge of Jesus at the hour of need. Having vigorously campaigned for Huckabee throughout the primaries only to jump ship at his greatest hour of need, when Lazarus all but clinched the GOP nomination is mind-boggling to say the least. After Super Tuesday’s convincing performance by McCain, I must confess that being a numbers person, I could not foresee him catching up to McCain let alone beating him. His victories in Kansas, Louisiana and Washington are a major step in the right direction.

Indeed with 988 delegates left to campaign for, with some states proportionally splitting the delegates between the candidates, it was mathematically impossible for Huckabee to beat McCain. Then it hit me that if Huckabee miraculously won all the remaining delegates, McCain would not reach the magic number of 1191 that guarantees the nomination. This unfavorable yet possible outcome would lead to a brokered convention where super delegates would pitch in to decide the nominee. Thomas Dewey in 1948 was the last GOP candidate selected through a brokered convention. He beat Robert Taft of the then powerful Ohio Taft family. I suspect this is the underlying reason the Bush Administration has refused to outwardly endorse any candidate so as not to influence the decision of the electorate. They are playing it safe and allowing the people to make their own decision. One should not expect the administration to stay mum once the nominee is determined. After all the underdog Giants persevered the pressure from the pundits and cynics and ruined the perfect season by upsetting the heavily favored Patriots in the super bowl.

With Romney out of the way, Huckabee is sweeping the conservative votes like taking candy from a kid. Not to say that McCain is not a true conservative; it's just that he appears to be a moderate when compared to Huckabee and the voters are increasingly making that distinction known. With the Evangelicals, the core social conservative base, backing Huckabee, and the fiscal conservatives snubbing McCain, the moderate Republicans and independents who have carried McCain might not be enough to propel him to an easy victory. McCain will have to earn it the hard way. Through Huckabee.

Riding high on God's shoulders, and operating on a shoe string budget, Huckaboom continues to prove that miracles do happen and that we must not let our faith dissipate like a fart in the wind.

If Romney gives his pledged delegates to Huckabee, then there is a strong chance that Huckabee will go toe to toe with McCain to the end and actually upset him without invoking the delegates at the convention. If this is the driving force behind Huckabee's refusal to concede to McCain, then I am all for it. However, if he is just politicking and taking us for a ride in preparation for 2012 then I think that it is selfish and he should do the honorable thing and suspend his ambitions for the sake of the party.

The dems are set to go all the way to their brokered convention. It would be advantageous for the GOP to field their nominees and get a jump start on the national campaign. This is not to say that Huckabee should concede, however I reiterate, that in the absence of a deal with Romney where he would get all Romney's delegates then he should let the party prevail over his passionate ambitions.