I admit it. I’m posting this mainly just to irritate you guys.

Seriously, though, no pass for Huck on this one? C’mon. It’s a good cause.

Huckabee suggested that hosting Obama is a sign that the issue isn’t one that should attract partisanship. “The tragedy would be for conservatives to sit it out and not ensure that the approach is indeed vertical and focused on the cultural and generational changes that are needed.”

Still, he said, it’s not a problem “that government can fix and shouldn’t attempt to regulate people’s behavior, but rather to follow the same framework that has marked other significant cultural shifts in health behavior.”

Huckabee says pushing kids to watch what they eat can be a subtle thing. “Kids respond to peer pressure and influences that surround them,” he says. “There is no simple solution because the issue is far more complex than that. It involves parents, kids, the medical community, the food industry, communities, and education. The role for government is far more limited than many will realize, but government does have a role, not to regulate personal behavior and private business but to regulate itself and its institutions.”

That highlighted part represents a big improvement for a guy who once supported federal workplace smoking bans in the name of wellness. If he uses the interview as a platform to argue against state meddling in health decisions — which would be a sweet jumping-off point for an argument over ObamaCare and rationing — he’ll do himself a lot of good. (Would Michelle O dare counter by challenging him on abortion?) Actually, he’s doing himself some good either way. Personal charm’s always been one of his big assets (ask Mitt Romney!) and this’ll give him a sweet opportunity to serve it up with a garnish of bipartisan civility on the side. Well played.

Meanwhile, a Hotline survey of conservative “insiders” reveals that 22 expect Palin to win CPAC’s straw poll, 20 expect Romney to win, and … not a single person expects Huck to come through. Rick Santorum got one vote and Mike Huckabee gets zero?