Huckabee Quit?…Why Should He?

We all know why Mitt Romney dropped out. He said his love for America made it necessary for him to step aside, so we could unite to beat Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. While Romney’s love of country is no doubt true, the fact is Mitt Romney had almost zero chance of winning after Super Tuesday, and he knew it. Furthermore, Romney had tapped into his own personal fortune to get him this far. And Romney stood to lose millions of dollars fighting a battle that was a lost cause. So, he dropped out, and is already eyeing a run for President in 2012, according to one of his senior advisors. Romney stood to lose a fortune by staying in the race. Mike Huckabee doesn’t.

Mike Huckabee doesn’t have a fortune. In fact, his campaign has pretty much existed on peanuts compared to what the other candidates are spending….and yet. On Saturday, Mike Huckabee won the states of Kansas and Louisiana. It wasn’t that if did pretty good, or got 2^nd, or made a good showing…..HE WON two more states, even though he has almost no money. He has also won Iowa, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee. The fact is that Mike Huckabee has catapulted from nowhere to 2^nd place on the sheer power of his personality, a lengthy record of defending life and the family as Governor of Arkansas, and a quick wit that attracts people to his side. Mike Huckabee has nothing to lose and everything to gain by staying in this race.

Even though it is highly likely that John McCain will win the Republican nomination, Mike Huckabee continues to build a name for himself, and he continues to keep the Republican race in the news. If Huckabee dropped out, the ONLY story we would be hearing in the press right now would be the Clinton-Obama race….and that’s bad for the Republicans.

Furthermore, as Huckabee continues to do well with the social conservatives that John McCain has struggled with, more and more suggestions are made about a possible McCain-Huckabee ticket. If Mike Huckabee could parlay his success in this election into achieving the number two office in the country, it would be quite a coup for him and evangelicals nationwide. Whoever ends up as McCain’s running mate will be in the driver’s seat to run for president when McCain’s time ends, if he were elected. The fact is that John McCain will be 72 years old when he’s inaugurated in 2009 and would be nearing 76 if he were to run for re-election in 2012. Factor in the 5 ½ years of torture that he endured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam that no doubt added years to his life and you begin to realize that John McCain, might just be a one term president by choice. If so, then expect his Vice President to run full throttle for the White House in 2012. And Huckabee’s only chance of being that man is to gain so much popularity now, that McCain will see his chances of winning Conservative states much better with Huckabee on the ticket.

The facts are what they are. John McCain will more than likely be the Republican nominee for President. And John McCain probably has a better chance of beating the Democrats than anyone else. But John McCain needs to solidify the Conservative base. Mike Huckabee doesn’t help him with the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity types who fawn over Mitt Romney as though he were Ronald Reagan reincarnated. But Mike Huckabee will deliver the Christian vote, and the South. And lest you think that those groups will vote Republican anyway, I might remind you that Barack Obama is extremely popular with black southerners, and could easily pick a couple of red states away in 2012 if he is the Democratic nominee. And even if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, Obama is very likely to be her Vice President.

This election season has been fun to watch. And Mike Huckabee has made it even more fun (and funnier). He’s a breath of fresh air when compared to the other politicians who ramble on with the same monotone diatribes and sound bites. I’m glad Mike Huckabee is staying in the race. As long as no candidate has reached the 1,191 delegates needed to win, the people still need a viable choice. There will be plenty of time to unite around the chosen candidate before the convention in September. Especially given the fact that the Democratic race is far from over and might not be decided when they convene in August. Kudos to Mike Huckabee. He’s the underdog, but he always has been anyway. And if he can’t win the nomination…maybe he’ll get the runner-up prize of V.P. Regardless of what happens, he’s right. The people need an election, not a coronation.