Monday Special - Echo, Echo, Echo

So, I was reading the news earlier today, when I came across this interesting piece by Jonathan Alter. While the main thesis of it was certainly a bit different than my last post on Sunday, it was suspiciously similar on a lot of details, even to the point of also using the phrase "past his sell-by date" in reference to John McCain and "albatross" in reference to the numerous problems facing Republican candidates. Hmmmm, could it be that Mr. Alter is reading my blog just a little too closely : ^)...

Okay, I'll grant that it's far more likely that I read too much of his scribbling (and that of other "real" journalists) than the other way around, particularly since I've only mentioned this blog to a handful of discerning cognoscenti (no pearls before swine, you know), but I certainly didn't read the article in question until after writing my own thoughts. So, it is kinda funny how people working entirely independently can reach similar conclusions. Of course, as I mentioned in the post, a lot of these theories have been bounced around a bit already, but still...it's interesting how Alter and I seem to put them all together in largely the same way. Naturally, one might argue that we are both dupes of some sort of "liberal press" echo chamber, but I'd have to aver that both our analyses, whatever their flaws, certainly have a little more thought to them than the DOA verbiage of so many AM radio and talking head gasbags.

Of course, Alter and I certainly differed on his central point (even to the extent that I relegated the subject in question to something of an afterthought). Or rather, he seems to agree with me that Huckabee will probably not get the nomination because of the perception that he is too right-wing to win in the general election, but disagrees with me insofar as I believe that perception to be correct. To be fair, Alter does make some good points: Huckabee does have some traits that would mollify the fact that he is apparently another evangelical looney (the American public has long since indicated that it can stomach a cheery biblethumper far better than the fire-and-brimstone type), and he seems less tied to Iraq than any of the other leading candidates. But, I still doubt that those things would be enough to make enough voters ignore his far-right, crazy, revival-tent religiosity. True, the overwhelming majority of voters do want a candidate who talks the God talk at least a little bit, but frankly, I think a majority of that majority are sick of the politicos who wear their religion on their sleeves. That's another one the Republican field can thank Bush for to a large extent.

In any case, this'll all be moot if, indeed, most Republican primary voters can't be convinced of the Huck-ba-crite's general election viability. Granted, he does seem to be perhaps the only candidate outside of the McRomniani triumvirate with even an outside shot at the nom (oh, did I forget Thompson? How silly of me), but I think the process is too front-loaded for Huckabee to genuinely have a shot...Hmm, that sounds familiar - wonder if I heard it somewhere before? ;^P