The American Spectator

But in a political contest, that’s neither here nor there. I do not ask what a candidate thinks of Darwinian claims, any more than I care what he thinks of Britney Spears’s musical talents. Instead, I ask him what he thinks of originalism in interpreting the Constitution, what he thinks of abortion, immigration, defending America, and so on.

If conservatives don’t place electability high on their list of qualifications for a candidate, they’ll go the way of the libertarians, whose purism has led them into dalliances with dead-end third-partyism, neo-confederacy, and retreatism as the best way to impress terrorists. In short, irrelevancy.

I think the real problem here is that conservatives like Neumayr are looking for a Reagan, but are frustrated by what they end up with. (“Behold it was Leah.”) Wise conservatives, however, realize that a leader like Ronald Reagan only comes around once a century or so, though they still hold out hope that lightening will strike twice.

That probably won’t happen soon, so when none of the top contenders measures up, conservatives have to be pragmatic. Electability looms large as a criterion, as does personality. I think it was Leibniz who said that this is the best of all possible worlds. The deity could not have created a better world, given the materials he had to work with. He had to make do.

p>Politics is a lot like that, too. br> — C. V. Crisler br> Gilbert, Arizona /p> p> Are we talking about the same Mr. Huckabee who used shameless, open religious bigotry (anti-Mormonism) to take his campaign from nowhere to winning Iowa? The same Mr. Huckabee whose supporters (not all) continue that shameless bigotry at every opportunity in blogs and churches around this country? And now Mr. Neumayr complains that conservatives aren’t accepting him because of OUR religious intolerance? br> — Jeffrey Lawrence /p>

George Neumayr misses the point about why Mike Huckabee is controversial among Republicans. While Huckabee does advocate eliminating the IRS and the Estate Tax, he has governed as an economic liberal who raised taxes and increased spending while arguing for regulation of trade. He has run against the current administration’s “bunker mentality” in foreign policy, echoing the claims of liberals who accuse the president of failing to get the French and Germans to support regime change in Iraq (ignoring that he’d have to overcome their addiction to Oil-For-Food graft to do so) In taking these positions, he has alienated economic and neo-conservatives, two core groups in the Republican coalition. In addition, his promiscuous use of clemency has resulted in a Willie Horton-esque scandal in the Ricky Ray Rector case, and his ethical lapses, which bring unfortunate comparisons with that other Arkansas governor.

p>I have no doubt that Huckabee will be a better choice than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, but that doesn’t mean that he’s the best choice among Republicans.