What the hell is Huckabee doing?

[Padfoot]

Not that I'm complaining, but why is Huckabee drawing this thing out for the Republicans?  His wins yesterday and near win in Washington are only making things harder for the GOP.  There's really no way he can win at this point unless he can get Romney to give him all his delegates.  Even then McCain would still have a large lead.  So what is Huckabee doing?  I know that many in the GOP may not want to concede the primary to McCain but it it pretty clear he's going to win at this point.  What is Huckabee hoping to accomplish by continuing with his campaign?

[exopolitician]

I honestly dont know, but the margin in Washington has tightened. I just checked at its still 87% in but its 26% McCain 24% Huckabee. Who knows what will happen there. Huckabee could be smart for playing this out for this long, or he may be totally out of his mind. Apparently since Romney and everyone else is out of the race, hes made it possible for it to be this close in Washington of all states. Maybe he thinks he can make this happen everywhere else.


If not that, then hes looking for a VP slot.

[Tender Branson]

Probably Chuck Norris and God told Huckabee to stay in the race until the bitter end ...

[Jeff from NC]

Perhaps by appearing to be committed to stopping McCain he hopes to cement his support among evangelicals and then run again in 2012?  Seems like a real stretch though.

[You are responsible]

Theories:

- Thinks THE LORD will make him win, because he's the candidate who will amend the constitution to bring in it line with "God's standards".

- He just loves the attention he's getting.

- Thinks that it will raise his prospects for 2012.

- Wants to become VP.

- Tries to force McCain to accept a running mate as conservative as possible.

- Tries to remind McCain that he need evangelicals/conservatives to win the election.

- Tries to push McCain to the right (on social issues).

[motomonkey]

What he is doing is WINNING primaries.  The man threw his hat in the ring to run for President.  Any candidate who is WINNING primaries has earned the right to continue in the contest regardless of the delegate count. 

When more members of the Republican Party in a state vote for a challenger than they do for the leader, those members deserve to be heard at the convention.  A MAJORITY of Republicans are voting AGAINST John McCain.  If the party were counting popular vote or awarding delegates proportionately, this would not be over.

Republicans better quit attacking Huckabee and figure out how to listen to the majority of their base who are voting against McCain. 

[Gustaf]

Huckabee is still only winning in the South and in the caucuses. His support remains pretty limited.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

What he is doing is WINNING primaries.  The man threw his hat in the ring to run for President.  Any candidate who is WINNING primaries has earned the right to continue in the contest regardless of the delegate count. 

When more members of the Republican Party in a state vote for a challenger than they do for the leader, those members deserve to be heard at the convention.  A MAJORITY of Republicans are voting AGAINST John McCain.  If the party were counting popular vote or awarding delegates proportionately, this would not be over.

Republicans better quit attacking Huckabee and figure out how to listen to the majority of their base who are voting against McCain. 

I just love the victim mentality that so many so-called "Conservatives" have.  You do realize that there is and have been elections here?  We don't have superdelegates like the Dems - this has been a fair and open process.  Mike Duncan and some friends aren't sitting in a closed room somewhere saying "What we need is our loyal servant John McCain in the White House!"

The talk radio punditocracy and their followers remind me so much of liberals sometimes.  If we had talk radio in 1980, Ronald Reagan would have never made it to the Presidency because he would not have been far-right enough for them.

I adore Mike Huckabee, and while I am hopeful that he will bow out soon so that we can concentrate our financial and personnel resources on our eventual nominee, it doesn't bother me that there are people casting ballots for him.  While there is certainly a large segment of the Party that is uncomfortable with Senator McCain (just as there is a large part of the Democratic Party that is uncomfortable with Senator Clinton), there is a larger element that is voting FOR Mike Huckabee and his policies that reflect the moral conscience of our nation.  Honestly, most of the Huckabee voters I know are "okay" with McCain and just didn't want a Mormon in the White House.  People who hated McCain usually voted for Romney around here, and are probably reflected in the large uncommitted and Romney vote in Washington state.

[Reaganfan]

He is making himself the presumptive running mate.

[Reluctant Republican]

Well, without Huckabee in the race, you'd have to figure that most of the media attention would be focused on the Democrats. So I'm thinking McCain does not mind Huckabee in the race that much since he keeps at least some attention focused on the Republicans and he really does not have a chance to get the nomination in the end.

[big bad fab]

And CNN which says he won surprisingly well in Kansas ! Of course, he won !

On the contrary, McCain won a surprising amount of votes in Louisiana, a very very social conservative state.

OK, McCain did very bad in Washington, but that's a caucus with a desorganized GOP there and some lunatic voters.... (see Ron Paul's result).

Huckabee wants to gather more delegates than Romney. But he will harm himself as GOP establishment will want the race to end, in order to save money and to take advantage of the undecided Dem race until August.
And McCain will finally become irritated by this thorn in his side: a sure way for Huck not to be VP....
For many GOPers, sooner or later, "I  Huck" will replace "I like Mike"....

He will be beaten widely in Virginia and Maryland.
Maybe he will go on till Texas and Ohio, but will be defeated there again.
He will drop out after Mississipi.

Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee: all had very strange behaviors in this campaign, at one point or another.