Republicans of all varieties, from strategists to top officials, have called Huckabee to try to change his mind on Akin. So far, it hasn’t worked. It’s gotten to the point where Republicans are treating Huckabee with kid gloves almost as much as Akin. For example, when Sen. John Cornyn, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called Huckabee recently, he took care not to push. “To his credit, he did not call and have a conversation with me saying, you’ve got to get Todd Akin out,” says Huckabee. “We had a very honest conversation between two people who like each other…and I don’t have a problem with the Senatorial Committee deciding the race is not one they want to invest in.”

Other Republicans have called Huckabee to cite polls showing Akin has sunk like a stone among Missouri voters. “That’s fine, I understand,” Huckabee says. “And the polls right now are not good. But let’s give them a week or two. Let’s see what happens and whether the voters come back.” Huckabee remains perhaps the last, or one of the last, Republicans in America who believes Akin can still win. “Sure,” Huckabee says. “Anybody can win an election that is going to be about more than one statement he made. This is going to be about a long-term record of 12 years in the Congress and contrasting that with Claire McCaskill.”…

But what about another Republican candidate? There are good ones out there. And if Akin leaves the race, it’s not as if an Obama-style pro-choicer would become the GOP standard-bearer in Missouri. Why not support, say Ann Wagner, the House candidate who is now being discussed as a replacement for Akin in the Senate race? “I love Ann,” Huckabee says. “I have campaigned for her, went to St. Louis and did an event for her. Love her. But she didn’t run for the Senate. She ran for the House and won, and she’ll be a fantastic congresswoman. And someday, she may run for the Senate. But she didn’t do that. Todd Akin did, and he won that election.”