How curious, says former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, that most polls comparing potential candidates for the 2012 Republican nomination show him at or near the top — yet it's Sarah Palin's rumored bid that gets all the media attention. Huckabee, a Fox News host and author, is far ahead of the field in Iowa, the lead-off primary state: "I just don't understand how it is that a person can read these polls day after day and the narrative is constantly everybody but me," he told Politico. Does he have a point? (See Huckabee's take on the latest issues)
Huckabee's right — he is getting no respect: It's easy to understand Huckabee's frustration, says Frank James at NPR. After his strong presidential run in 2008, Huckabee "could be Obama's worst nightmare" in 2012. "Huckabee emanates folksiness from his pores" that could undermine the president's urbane coolness. And Huckabee, as a former Arkansas governor, could pull in Southern voters and independent men who helped put Obama over the top in 2008.
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