A Fly in the Ointment?

After barnstorming Kansas on Friday in hopes of rallying "values" voters to caucus for him on Saturday, former Gov. Mike Huckabee landed in Washington, D.C., at about 1 a.m., just eight hours before he was scheduled to address the Conservative Political Action Conference to remind them he's still running for president. Sensing the disconnect between social conservatives and de facto Republican nominee Sen. John McCain—one echoed by Huckabee's landslide victory in Saturday's GOP caucus—Huckabee dove right into the breach Saturday morning, brandishing his religious right credentials, first by telling the crowd that Biblical scripture is the root of his political views, and then by quoting Ecclesiastes: "A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but a foolish man's heart directs him toward the left."

The opening went over well and got a standing ovation from Saturday's CPAC crowd, which appeared to include as many religious youth voters as those from the party establishment. Twenty-somethings with "student" labels on their badges and Liberty University pins and stickers were as visible as any of the big heavies and donors designated "cosponsors". Huckabee hadn't come to please the latter group anyway. Rather, he touched on faith and morality early and often throughout his speech, no matter the "queasiness" it causes among the D.C. GOP establishment. "I realize it's not politically correct to say what I'm about to say, but I've believed it as a teenager and I will not recant it now," Huckabee began, before stating that in his view, America is a great nation because "it was founded by people who were first on their knees before they were on their feet."

Over the next 45 minutes, Huckabee hit the social conservative high notes—stopping embryonic stem-cell research and amending the constitution to ban abortion and gay marriage, to sealing our borders and cozying up to the gun lobby. "We believe that if you knock on our front door and you're hungry, we'll ask you to go sign the guest book and try to feed you. But if you break through the window in the middle of the night, then God help you."

Huckabee also signaled his intention to continue the Bush administration's view of preemption in the war on terror. "This nation must rally to the point where we recognize there is no compromise, there is no alternative," he said. "We must win, they must lose. Islamo-fascism must disappear from this earth."

He also reminded the crowd of his working-class roots—the first of his family to graduate from high school, let alone go to college—and that he, not McCain, has proven himself capable of beating Hillary Clinton. "I'm the only person in this race who's run against the Clinton political machine and beat it," he said, referring to his success running as a Republican lieutenant governor and governor in traditionally Democratic Arkansas in the 1990s.

Despite constant assurances that he was staying in the race, Huckabee arrived at CPAC with many wondering, and more than a few hoping, that he might quit. "I know there's speculation I might come here today to announce that I might be getting out of the race," Huckabee said to a chorus of "Nooo!" from a crowd still feeling burned by Mitt Romney's announcement Thursday to suspend his campaign. But, to an equally resounding chorus of applause and, perhaps relief, Huckabee assured them that he was not quitting. "Why? Because I do believe America is about making choices and not echoing that of others."