Just another quick thought about that Jonathan Martin piece Jason linked to earlier, which says Huckabee may be McCain's best ally in Florida, where he could deny Romney a lot of conservative votes. Jonathan writes:
Could Huckabee be angling for the No. 2 spot on McCain’s ticket, or a Cabinet position in a McCain administration? ...
“In Florida, McCain is desperate to keep conservative Republicans from coalescing around another candidate, and the best way to prevent it is to have the GOP vote fractured,” said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato. “Huckabee knows that by keeping his candidacy alive, he’s potentially helping McCain win another split plurality vote. McCain knows it, too. Gratitude will follow — but whether that includes the vice presidency is anybody’s guess.”
I think Huckabee would be a great running mate for Romney or even Giuliani, both of whom would need to reassure wary evangelicals. But McCain has far, far bigger problems among GOP estabishment types--lobbyists, anti-tax and corporate interest groups, etc.--than he does among rank-and-file social conservatives. McCain will need a running mate who puts establishment types at ease, and Huckabee, with his tirades against the "Washington-Wall Street axis," would do exactly opposite. It's extremely difficult for me to imagine a McCain-Huckabee ticket.
--Noam Scheiber