McCain-Huckabee 2008?
This little tidbit from cnn.com furthered a suscipion that I have had for some time now: Mike Huckabee is running for Vice-President.
“Romney was ahead in the first round of voting in Charleston [West Virginia] but failed to get the majority needed to win. It appeared as though supporters of McCain, who placed a distant third on the first ballot, moved over to Huckabee, helping him to carry the day.”
Now, it might just be adroit manuveuring by the McCain camp to keep Romney from being able to claim a victory, but I wonder if Huckabee is positioning himself as McCain’s running mate. He obviously can’t win the nomination this time around [let alone ever!], but by siphoning off evangelical votes from Romney he has been aiding McCain’s candidacy.
McCain might be smart to pick Huckabee since it would be something of an olive branch to the religious right. The downside would be that hardcore conservatives aren’t huge Huckabee fans either because of his populism, but I seriously doubt McCain could ever win over the Ann Coulter/Rush Limbaugh crowd even if he picked Nancy Reagan to be his second. 
But you did see Charlie Crist standing behind McCain tonight? He’s the guy who sold McCain his soul in Florida for the opportunity to run as VP.
Sure, Huckabee looks like the obvious option, but if McCain’s looking for someone with less political baggage, yet someone who is just as able as Huckabee to rally conservatives, then Crist might be the better choice.
Good point; if Crist can help McCain win Florida in the general election…
Heard on NPR this morning that if McCain wins the nomination he could actually put California in play for Republicans in the general election…the first time since Ronald Reagan.
I tend to agree that Crist is a more viable VP option, but Huckabee could be looking toward a Cabinet appointment.