Fare Thee Well, Huckster ... For Now

So Mike Huckabee's wild ride is finally over. Looking back, we remember a candidate who beguiled us with his canned grandpa jokes, jarred us with his dog-murdering son, intrigued us with his denim, elbow-patched shirts, and reminded us that not everyone believes in evolution. Unlike several of his fellow failed Republican candidates who would have been better off (or at least richer) had they not run, Huckabee's bid for the presidency was an unquestionably smart career move. Ol' Huck has dramatically increased his fees on the speech-making circuit and has created a national profile (and some boffo political mailing lists) that will be sought after by evangelical vote-seeking candidates for years to come. He will be missed during the short period of time it takes for one of the major cable news networks to sign him to a deal. And after that, he probably won't be missed at all.