Huckabee Drinks Homebrew Cool-Aid

& Forfeits VP Slot

Romney Strategy Makes Sense

From South Carolina, make that South Chicago Heights

6 p.m. Central Coast Time /5 pm Mint Julep Time

Dirty Tricks in South Carolina. Truth be told, the push polling and slimy ads running in South Carolina are no worse than they have been anywhere else, they just get more publicity there. The only difference in South Carolina is that the slick-talking, bible Huckster is impugning the good name of John McCain through the 527 ads by his minions. McCain has responded with ads that say, "If you want to know the truth about John McCain, ask Mike Huckabee." The ad continues with quote after quote by Mike Huckabee giving adulation to John McCain.

One exception is that Huckabee has stooped very low in reopening the old South Carolina wounds around the Confederate flag. He did so for the sole purpose of disinterring McCain’s trouble with that issue in 2000. The Huckster is billing it as though McCain interfered with states rights by telling South Carolinians what to do (about their flag). Not true. McCain was asked his opinion and he gave it. Its really a shameless ploy on the part of Huckabee. Here are the ramifications:

1. Huckabee has been drinking too much of his homebrew cool-aid. He never ran for president thinking he could actually get nominated. He ran thinking McCain, Giuliani or Romney would get nominated and a Southern, right-wing conservative, and bible man to boot, would be a good asset on a presidential ticket. The nominee will, in fact, be McCain, Giuliani or Romney. He has burned his bridge with McCain and Romney and, as soon as he gets to Florida, will burn it with Giuliani.

2. Thompson is helping McCain by taking bible voters away from Huckabee. McCain will etch out a slim victory tomorrow in South Carolina unless the weather renders only Christian Soldiers onward to the polls. If the Huckster wins tomorrow, he will take another swig of the cool-aid, further deluding himself into thinking he can get nominated. He won’t play well in the majority of states.

3. SC Power: Here today, gone tomorrow? No one has ever won the GOP nomination without winning South Carolina. That gives SC a lot of power. Until 2000, no Republican ever won The White House without winning Illinois. George W. Bush became President in 2000 without it. Strange circumstances, yes, he didn’t win the popular vote. He did win the popular vote and electoral college in 2004 without winning Illinois. Things change. I’d REALLY like to see McCain win tomorrow in SC. If the winner tomorrow, whoever it is, doesn’t go on to get nominated, it will diminish the power of SC. That’s probably a good thing.

Of Confederate Flags and Race Bating. Whether the Clinton’s using race as a wedge issue against Obama or Huckabee using the Confederate flag as an issue against McCain, I am reminded of how much we need to turn a new page. This year is a great opportunity to do that and we need to really not allow politicians to manipulate us by using the same old divisive issues to further the paralysis in our land. The economy is in a tailspin and our national security/war issues are most disconcerting. We need to be unified as a people, not uniform, but together amidst our differences convened under the one American flag, leaving Confederate flags to the past and Mexican flags to the south of the border.

Mitt Romney’s strategy to forgo South Carolina for Nevada makes sense. There are 10 more GOP delegates in Nevada than South Carolina. He will lose SC, which he would have done anyway, but he will be able to lose saying he wasn’t really giving it his all. Nevada has much less buzz but will garner him more delegates.