The American Spectator

Before getting into the race himself, Huckabee famously told political supporters in Arkansas that he thought it would be a good thing for Hillary Clinton to win the presidency in 2008. On the campaign trail, Huckabee disputed that he’d made the remark, except one of the sources was one of Huckabee’s ministers.

Huckabee, meanwhile, has turned down opportunities to serve as a surrogate for McCain, and instead is spending much of his time either auditioning for cable TV commentator gigs or attending fundraisers for House Republican candidates.

“Huckabee is more interested in laying the groundwork for his next campaign, not in seeing Republicans win the White House,” says a House Republican. “He’s looking to collect chits from us for down the road.”

While the McCain campaign may have given up on Huckabee, it hasn’t given up on reaching out to some of the higher profile evangelical Christian leaders, including Focus on the Family leader James Dobson.

McCain made of point of not currying favor with the evangelical community during the primary season, and now is doing what he can to tap into that important group for the general election. Dobson, according to McCain insiders, has been cool to the outreach, but not overtly dismissive.