I took a much needed break this weekend with friends and family and so I wasn’t around to blog the big news. Mike Huckabee is out of the running for the Presidential nomination.
Now, I said as early as February 22nd that I was betting Huckabee wouldn’t run. So I’m happy to have a winning prediction under my belt. But besides that, this really shakes up the calculus for 2012.
Iowa is now going to be wide open, and it leaves the “not Mitt Romneycare” position as one much easier to fill. The question is, who does this benefit? Palin? Bachmann? Someone else? Personally, I’ll be bold and say that Sarah Palin jumps in later in the year and consolidates that large chunk of the far right base that is, for all intents and purposes, the majority of the Republican Party. It will be her and Romney clashing state to state, right up to the end. Of course I reserve the right to be wrong, but after calling Huckabee’s non run for what it was I’m feeling lucky.
This also makes things easier for Dems in Arkansas. 2012 may end up being rough, but it’s starting to look, potentially, better than last year. Sure Obama isn’t going to help Democrats in Arkansas out, but Mike Huckabee would have come to the table with very real, and long, coattails in this state. As unpopular as Obama has been here in this state, I can’t see someone like Romney, Palin, or Gingrich getting Arkansans fired up for the Republicans. And while it may not make things a great deal easier, there is a big difference between a fired up base and a base that is holding its nose, especially if things continue to get worse for Republicans across the board as seems to be happening.
As for the Mike Huckabee Presidential Fan Club in Arkansas? To them I say get over it. Your man was a con-artist who was using you. All he cares about is himself and making money. So much for that “Godly preacher” business. Oh, and you get so very few chances in politics. This was probably Huckabee’s last, best shot to be President. It will not come around again.
