Republicans After Iowa
National Review Online
Mike Huckabee deserves congratulations this morning. We have been tough on him, and we retract not a word of our criticism. But he managed to score a big win with almost no money, no support from Republican bigwigs, and, until a few months ago, single-digit support in the polls. That he won is a testament to his sheer political talent: not only his much-discussed fluency as a speaker, but also his sense of the moment.
The fact remains that those talents would not have brought him a plurality if not for his religion and the way he has run on it. Huckabee cleaned up among evangelicals and lost, badly, among everyone else. Evangelicals will not be 60 percent of the electorate in most states. If the governor wants to win the nomination, as opposed to becoming an evangelical kingmaker, he needs to broaden his appeal to other types of conservatives.
Mike Huckabee deserves congratulations this morning. We have been tough on him, and we retract not a word of our criticism. But he managed to score a big win with almost no money, no support from Republican bigwigs, and, until a few months ago, single-digit support in the polls. That he won is a testament to his sheer political talent: not only his much-discussed fluency as a speaker, but also his sense of the moment.
The fact remains that those talents would not have brought him a plurality if not for his religion and the way he has run on it. Huckabee cleaned up among evangelicals and lost, badly, among everyone else. Evangelicals will not be 60 percent of the electorate in most states. If the governor wants to win the nomination, as opposed to becoming an evangelical kingmaker, he needs to broaden his appeal to other types of conservatives.
posted by Andy W. Rogers | 11:25 AM
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