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!