Philip,
As much as I have been a critic of Huckabee, I don't think it is
fair to say that "it is mathematically impossible for him to win."
It is only impossible for him to win ON THE FIRST BALLOT. But his
whole point is that until McCain has a first-ballot nomination
sewed up, he (Huck) may as well keep fighting. If nobody wins on
the first ballot, all bets are off, and anybody can win, including
people not even in the race. Of course it is a longshot, but it
isn't impossible. Huck is merely acting out Yogi Berra's dictum
that it ain't over til, well, you know....
Here's the deal: McCain could have a health scare. McCain could be
blown out of the water by the long-awaited NYT expose. McCain could
have one of his temper tantrums and make people desperately search
for an alternative. All sorts of things could happen between now
and the convention.
Me, I would prefer McCain as the nominee to Huck. But I am all for
doing everything possible to let the convention actually act as a
convention, meaning letting the delegates actually have a chance to
exercise their discretion. Every four years I get frustrated that
candidates pull out too early -- which is even a worse thing when
the contests are all so early. I mean, it is absolutely crazy for
us to be less than halfway through February, with a convention not
until September (or late August -- when the heck is it, anyway?),
and for us to already have a nominee-designate.
So, although I am no fan of Huck's, I can put on my neutral analyst
hat and say Go Huck Go!