Within the margin of error, as these early polls of Republican frontrunners always are. Interestingly, while Sarahcuda’s favorable rating among Republicans remains dramatically higher than either Mitt’s or Huck’s (partly due to the fact that she’s much better known), she can’t put any daylight between herself and them as a choice for the nomination. And then there’s this:
On the plus side, she hasn’t really lost — or gained — any ground with Americans since last fall. On the minus side, you can imagine the Huckabee attack ad already: She’s unelectable.
Question: If both Romney and Palin announce that they’re running, does Huck drop out and play kingmaker instead? He’d have an outside shot to win a head-to-head race with Romney on the strength of the “anyone but Mitt” vote from evangelicals and “true conservatives.” He’d have an outside shot to win a head-to-head race with Palin on the strength of the “anyone but Sarah” vote from centrists. But what shot does he have to win a three-way race when the “anyone but Mitts” will probably break for Palin and the “anyone but Sarahs” will probably break for Romney? The smart move, I’d think, would be to stay out and sell his endorsement to one of the other two candidates, possibly in exchange for the VP slot. He can do more for Mitt than he can for Palin by giving him the Christian seal of approval, but maybe that prospect is reason enough for the ‘Cuda to recruit him and keep him on her side. Could he suppress his disdain for Romney even in return for a spot on the ticket, though? And could Mitt tolerate the idea of working with him for four years in return for winning the nomination? Magic eightball says: Unlikely.
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