McCain's Mojo & Huckabee's hucksterism

Comment: I found these conservative assessments of McCain and Huckabee insightful! Read below.


Opinion Journal: McCain's Mojo

Excerpts:

Mr. McCain's victory catapults him back into contention in a GOP race that he once led, only to implode last year. The Arizona Senator can thank New Hampshire voters who knew him well from his primary win there in 2000. But the candidate himself also deserves credit--for sheer doggedness, and because his determination on Iraq when everyone else was running for cover has now paid off politically.
...
Mr. McCain's opportunity--and challenge--is to show that he is now the best candidate to unite the anxious and fractious wings of the Republican coalition. With Rudy Giuliani suspect among cultural conservatives, and Mike Huckabee trashing Wall Street and corporations, Mr. McCain is now the candidate best positioned to appeal to all Republican voters.



George Will: Iowa's Histrionic Hucksters

Excerpt:

Although Huckabee ... profess(es) to loathe and vow to change Washington's culture, [he] would aggravate its toxicity.[He] overflows with and wallows in the pugnacity of the self-righteous who discern contemptible motives behind all disagreements with [him] and who therefore think that opponents are enemies and differences are unsplittable.

Concluding comment: The Republicans have three wings:

1. Fiscal conservatives
   
2. Social conservatives
   
3. National defense conservatives
   

As I see it, this grid represents the strength & appeal of each:

	Type of conservative
Candidate	Fiscal	Social	Defense
John McCain	X	x	X
Mike Huckabee	?	X	?
Mitt Romney	x	X	x
Rudy Giuliani	?	N	X

X = strong
x = weak
? = unknown
N = No