James Joyner at my occasional alternative haunt, OTB, discusses Mike Huckabee’s failure to gain much traction on the campaign trail with the Christian right’s leaders—who have seemed to prefer candidates like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani—despi...

However, I take issue with the author of this editorial on the strength of the religious right. The movement is still extremely strong. Just look at the South. It will continue to play a huge role in national politics for many years to come.

Are you from Arkansas or have you followed his carrer to make this statement?

Yes, I live in Arkansas and voted for Huckabee during his last election as our governor. In addition to the info offered by NoZe, Gov. Huckabee bitterly criticized ICE for a raid on a poultry plant that netted many illegal aliens and yet now he talks about strong border security.

In his last day in office, he emptied the account set up for the discretionary spending of the governor without explanation, the fund had to be replenished by the current legislature. Now while that could possibly be argued as being within his authority, he also had all the hard drives removed from all the computers in his office and had them crushed. Not just erased but physically destroyed.

Having met him once, I can say he is a likeable person but I reiterate, he is no champion of conservative causes.

Do you think he did anything on the social issues as govenor to warrant Dr. Dobson's endorsement?

Huckabee is a very genial, friendly pol who is something of a political chameleon...I think he surprised many Arkansans by not being as conservative as we initially thought a Baptist preacher might be. Nevertheless, he can toe the fundamentalist line before a religious audience. Many have wondered - is he a moderate cloaked as a conservative or a conservative cloaked as a moderate? I've taken both positions at various times!

He can be remarkably thin-skinned and petty. When the local liberal alternative Little Rock newsweekly criticized him too much, filed FOI requests on Governor's Mansion spending, or filed ethics complaints, he had them removed from his office's mailing list so they wouldn't receive press releases. He's yet to come clean about his role in the Wayne Dumond commutation, and he shades the truth in claiming to have cut taxes 90 times during his tenure.

He sometimes thinks before he speaks. On the Don Imus radio show, he once referred to his home state as a "banana republic," pretty inexcusable for a governor!

He has a weakness, almost a sense of entitlement, for gifts and perqs...he's accepted free gifts and clothing from political supporters, used the governor's mansion expense account for his own personal spending, and toward the end of his last term set up a gift registry for himself at Dillard's so that admirers could purchase housewarming gifts for his new home in North Little Rock.

However, he also pushed through legislation to increase access to health care for poor children, invested tobacco settlement monies into long-term health care, and has fought against members of his own party who wanted to demonize illegal aliens in the state.

I personally liked Mike Huckabee, although I never voted for him. I'm still not sure he's presidential timber though.

Compared to Mitt or Rudy, he seems to be. I would like to know more about him. The more he gets his name in the press, the more money he will raise and the more he can get his name in the press.

Huckabee’s standing in the polls has been rising and is in position to maybe be the dark horse candidate. Then again there is a reason for the term dark horse.

he only reason his dirty laundry hasn't already been put out for public viewing

Patrick, This seems a rather blanket statement. Are you from Arkansas or have you followed his carrer to make this statement? Can you name a specific piece of dirty laundry?

he is a man of good moral values but he is no conservative by any stretch of the imagination

Do you mean social and/or fiscal conservative? I don't think Dr. Dobson would endorse any one who was not a social conservative. I'm not sure he's as interested in fiscal policies. Just as no one candidate can please everyone on either side of the isle, so no endorsement can be for the whole person.

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If it ever seemed like he might become a serious contender and people start looking closely at this man they will see another Hope Arkansas politician hiding behind religious trappings, a slick politician who isn't much to the right of Hillary.

Don't get me wrong, he is a man of good moral values but he is no conservative by any stretch of the imagination.