A new poll has Mike Huckabee leading the Republican field in Texas. Such polls are ridiculous to point of irrelevance at this stage of a presidential campaign…but keep an eye on Ole’ Huck. He’s got skills. He’s funny, decent and will, on occasion, violate the lockstep rigors of his party. He probably has the best shot of gaining the support of the massive GOP God-squad, at least at this point–starting with his strong backing among Iowa Republicans. There’s no telling what happens if Newt Gingrich stumbles down the sawdust trail, yelling “Help me Jesus!”, spilling tears aplenty and confessing wantonly to every overindulgence he’s ever wantoned. Or Tim Pawlenty, for that matter. (Be ready for some heavy-duty God-pandering, in any case).
The winner of the Jesus primary is likely to face the winner of free-market-mania primary. It will be interesting to see how the contestants attempt to reconcile these dueling tendencies, along with the newly-minted Tea Party libertarianism and old-line neoconservative warmongering. I make no predictions, a long-standing policy. But I’ll be surprised if Huckabee isn’t in the mix.