Mike Huckabee's Popularity Surges Because of All the Things He's Not

With all due respect to the man, it's obvious that Mike Huckabee's recent upswing in popularity is due to all the things he's not. It's all the things he's not that make him the only sensible choice for the Republican Party: he's not scary, he's not metropolitan, and he's not too un-cool.

First of all, he's not a Mormon. It's almost pointless to debate whether Mitt Romney would be a competent president or not when every poll and survey indicates that double-digit percentages of American voters on both sides of the spectrum would not, under any circumstances, vote for a Mormon presidential candidate. Democrats are scared that a Mormon president would be "too religious"; Republicans are scared that a Mormon president wouldn't be a "real" Christian. It's unfortunate, but it's not worth debating or trying to change at this relatively late stage in the game. Mike Huckabee beats Mitt Romney because of his sheer not-Mormonism.

He even goes a step further than simply not being a Mormon by being a protestant minister. While Romney's religious affiliation will cost him any chance of success, Huckabee's active religious status will actually win him Republican votes. Such is our country.

Secondly, Mike Huckabee is not a New Yorker. Yes, plenty of those who plan and thrive off of the neo-conservative machine live in or around New York, but these machinists also know that the largest masses of Republican-voting Americans are not located in New York, and are, in fact, a little mistrusting of "all them damn city-folk." In 2008, when the terms "bible belt" and "Republican voting base" are practically synonymous, the GOP can't afford to place its hopes on the shoulders of a New York icon. Mike Huckabee beats Rudy Giuliani due to his not-New York status.