Huckabee: The Essential Lightness of Being

What's not to like about Mike Huckabee? Aside from some differences between he and I on a few issues, very little. Except that he is a lightweight, and two developments this week should end any talk that he is presidential timber, let alone should be considered the hottest candidate in the GOP pack.

First, the former Republican governor from Arkansas revealed, albeit unintentionally, that he was totally at sea on the major story of the moment -- a National Intelligence Estimate that revealed Iran apparently had abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003 -- and that when it comes to foreign policy he is a dunce.

Second, the former Republican governor from Arkansas revealed, again unintentionally, that his mishandling of the early release of a convicted rapist and murderer was a whole lot more problematic than it had first seemed -- and that when it comes to acting appropriately under political pressure he is a dunce.

In terms of positioning himself as a viable candidate, it is difficult to know which is worse. Poor judgment in the rape case and no judgment in the case of Iran.

But since the Family Values Party seem to have lowered its moral and ethical standards in a desperate bid to hold on to power (Larry Craig stays, Rudy Giuliani is a frontrunner), I suppose the Iran gaffe is ultimately more damaging since national security is still a big deal for the GOP.

Huckabee is an open book in this area, and its pages are blank. (Then again, so it was with three other former governors -- Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.)

Huckabee recently complained to National Review magazine that he gets all wiggly over questions about that Iraq war thingie during debates:

"We still go back through it over and over and over again. I just never quite understood why we continued to plow the same ground."

As Dick Polman notes, Huckabee sounds like an awful lot like a Democrat of yore.

It will be interesting to see if a guy who doesn't believe in evolution can evolve himself.

In a campaign that moves at the speed of light, that may be a bridge too far for someone who has positioned himself as the anti-incumbent but isn't giving much indication these days that he is capable of becoming one himself.