Vice President Mike Huckabee

It sounds to me like Mike Huckabee is setting the stage to be viewed as the ideal V.P. on the McCain ticket.

We all know that John McCain needs the conservative wing of the Republican party for any hope of winning the White House. Right now the far right are about as comfortable with Mac as the frog with a scorpion on his back. They see him as the party's venomous vermin, ready to poison their grip on policy with his crazy history of compromise. So the quickest way for McCain to assuage their fears is to pick a running mate who they know and love; a legitimate conservative with the constitution in one hand and a Bible in the other.

There are a host of conservatives to choose from: Mitt Romney (though his Bible is the expanded version), Marsha Blackburn (hotter than Hillary), Haley Barbour (forget Katrina, I just like saying his name), Charlie Crist (just an 'h' away from Christ), Jim Demint (Determined & Defeisty), Tim Pawlenty (even knows what 'uff da' means), etc., etc., etc. Naturally, Mike Huckabee is on that list. He showed strength in the primaries and has a fairly strong following among the evangelical faithful. He also has that charismatic Southern wit. I mean, this is the guy who told us that "we've had a Congress that's spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop." Ah, still makes me laugh.

Of course, Huck also had one huge negative: he's been seen as a Bible-thumping ideologue with little tolerance for opposing views; an image he needed to dispel in order to make him palatable to the general public and worthy of serious consideration from John McCain. Based on his campaign, he may have been able to lure some conservative vote, but would undoubtedly repel a host of independents. Enter Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Frogs . . . I mean blogs (sorry, still on that frog analogy) and [some] networks have shown disgust and despair over the words of Barack Obama's Pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Conservatives in particular have been unforgiving about Wright's overt racism. So when Huckabee stepped forward during an interview on MSNBC with a tone of understanding, the shocking shock waves rippled across the politiscape. “I grew up in a very conservative south," Huckabee explained, "and I think that you have to cut some slack, and I think I’m probably the only conservative in America who is going to say something like this, but I’m just telling you, we’ve got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie you have to go in the backdoor when you go the restaurant.” He went on to say, “Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and have resentment, and you just have to say, I probably would too.”

Pundits have been abuzz. Maybe this Huckabee guy isn't as closed minded as everybody thought? Maybe this Huckabee guy understand the world as it is. Maybe this Huckabee guy would make a great V.P. Maybe Mike Huckabee is relevant again.

Now, Huckabee wouldn't be my choice but he's making a case for himself, despite his claims to the contrary.