Ok, up to a couple of weeks ago I was strongly leaning toward Hillary (and would strongly support Gore if he jumped in). Nothing against any of the other candidates, I like all of them (not wild on Kucinich) but definitely preferred Hillary.
And then the Hucka-boom started. I read a lot of what Huckabee was saying and what others were saying about him. A populist with a credible chance on the Republican side is, well, inconceivable before today. Not since Teddy Roosevelt have the Republicans put forward a true populist.
What was interesting was I found myself agreeing with a lot of what Huckabee said. Not all of it. And not enough to consider voting for him. But still, I found a lot of his policies interesting and some are ones I would support.
As I continued to watch what Huckabee said, it made me start paying a lot more attention to John Edwards. Because John is our populist candidate. And where Huckabee is appealing in general as a populist, in the specifics he's worrisome. But John Edwards combines the general appeal and his specifics tend to be really good.
So Mike Huckabee, because he is a populist and sold himself well, has changed my vote (at present) from Clinton to Edwards - our populist. While I am not sure he should be our candidate, I hope he wins Iowa so he remains in the race, both as an option and as an influence on the debate.
The Populist Dream Ballot
What could be fascinating is, if the general election it is Edwards vs Huckabee. Since both are clear populists, the election debate would not be on if the president should be a populist, but what type of populist. The campaign alone would insure the next 4 years would be a battle against the entrenched interests.
The fact that this result is very possible shows how much support there is in this country for a populist response to the growing imbalances in this country - across the political spectrum. And that alone is wonderful news.
