Before we begin the countdown in earnest about whether Nobel Al Gore will or will not run for President, it's time for some shameless promotion on my part: In my Sunday Out on a Limb colum will focus on Repulbican Presidential hopeful and former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee who continues to get positive press coverage, including from liberal media bias slaves to fashion like me.
So why hasn't this social conservative, former preacher, and guitar player with a great sense of humor (and an endless arsenal of one-liners, among other things) caught fire with voters or gotten a bigger bump in the polls or raised bucketloads more of money? Frankly, I don't know but it may say more about the current chaotic and dispirited environment for Repubs than anything else. But Huckabee has made bigger inroads in Iowa than anyone could have forseen and perhaps the same is happening sotte voce here in first-in-the-galaxy primary land. For his part, Huckabee is predicting victory in Iowa which would probably result in an even louder scream from Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani than that of Howard Dean in 2004. He says frequently the supporters he has are really with him. Perhaps they like the fact that he can talk global warming, question evolution, talk about the importance of music and art in education, talk about being pro-life and anti-gay marriage in a political sermon style easy to the ear.
When I talked to NH primary savant Dean Spiliotes about Huckabee's campaign (one office in Cocnord and three staff members and a lot of living off the land), he told me that Huckabee risks an interesting expectations trap: after a while people wonder why he hasn't struck a great chord among voters and their next step is to not give him a second look. He ends up becoming, ugh, another media favorite (Jack Kemp, Bill Bradley) who can't cut the primary muster.
By the way, Spiliotes has started a primary political web site for junkies and wonkies called NH Political Capital. You can find it here.
In my daily link, I pondered bigger thoughts than the primary when I read this latest installment in dumping our antiquated electoral college system for choosing presidents. "Let's abolish the Electoral College"
by constitutional law professor Garrett Epps in Oregon is well-reasoned and incorporates history and nasty modern politics. He makes yet another persuasive case to dump the system that had to more with protecting slavery than insuring the political safety of "small" states. Of course like all the other articles written over the past 100 years advocating such rational change, it will be ignored.
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