Question: "Not sure if you have mentioned this on RightWingNews, but there are rumors out there that Huckabee is at the top of McCain's short list of VP picks.

Can you comment, please?

Huckabee Tops McCain VP List" -- ToddonCapeCod

Answer: The veepstakes rumor mill has been spinning fast and furious of late and a different name seems to pop out every time. There were rumors McCain was looking hard at Condi Rice, then Mitt Romney, and now Huck.

Now, unlike a lot of other bloggers, I was a Huck fan. He was my #3 choice in the primary, behind Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson. Granted, he was way behind Duncan and Fred in my book, but still, I wasn't someone who was hostile to Huck.

I tell you that because I don't think he would be a particularly good choice as the Veep and I want you to understand that's not just anti-Huck venom.

That's not to say that Huck doesn't have any strengths. He's extremely charismatic, is strong with social conservatives, and would help McCain in the South.

However, once you get past Huck's charisma, it's hard to see how any of those other traits would be particularly helpful.

Sure, Huck is strong with social conservatives, but as a general rule, the same conservatives who don't like McCain, don't like Huck either. So anything McCain gained with social conservatives would probably be lost with conservatives in general by adding Huck to the ticket.

Moreover, although Huck would help in the South, McCain isn't weak in the South. Although there are certainly no guarantees in what is shaping up to be another tough year for Republicans, McCain probably has at least a 50/50 shot of winning every Southern state against Obama.

So, from there, we're left with Huck's charisma, which is certainly formidable, but probably isn't enough to make up for the malaise Huck would cause with conservatives who're not fond of McCain in the first place and would be even less so if he added someone they believe is a big government squish to the ticket.

PS: What I'd like to see Huck do is spend the next four years burnishing his conservative credentials, particularly on small government and foreign policy issues, and then he could step back into the ring and run again in 2012. I think Huck has the potential to be a real asset to the Republican Party and the conservative movement, but I'm just not sure that being McCain's Vice-President would be the best way for him to do that.