Charmaine in NRO: Huckabee and McCain — The Enthusiasm Gap

Governor Huckabee and Charmaine

In the background, Princella Smith and The Diva Charmaine has an article on National Review Online discussing the Huckabee campaign and an opportunity for McCain. Sign of the Times: The GOP should not underestimate the political significance of Mike Huckabee.

Pull-out quotes,

“Mike Huckabee offered a voice for a significant portion of the electorate that feels disenfranchised.

Unfortunately for the GOP, the synonym for this group is “their base.” “

Want to count votes? Count the kids — the leading indicator.

“Prior to the Iowa caucus, my own children worked next to a young girl whose mom flew her up from Texas to the Des Moines HQ, just to work the phones.”

The Dude and The Diva on the phone bank

in Des Moines, Iowa As the liberals say, it’s all for the children…

“The Republicans are going to have to find a way to address this Enthusiasm Gap. But to the extent that the GOP establishment recognizes that Huckabee was at the forefront of a political phenomenon occurring under their noses — has a previous campaign ever achieved so much with so little? — they appear to be responding by maligning it rather than attempting to mobilize it.”

The Penta-Posse at the

victory party in IowaTimeCharmaine closed with,

“This campaign, [McCain] said, would be about “Big Things.” What are the Big Things? Terrorism, tax cuts, judges and doubling back in the end to winning the war.

This is precisely the driver behind the political phenomenon of Mike Huckabee’s remarkable run: he understood — and was willing to stand up and say in the face of ridicule — that life, marriage, and the cultural concerns of everyday moms and dads are some of the Biggest Things of all.”

But it looks like McCain may be working on this. The Wall Street Journal reports in Now McCain Looks to the Fall,

“Sen. McCain will need to shore up the Republican base, including evangelical conservatives in the South and elsewhere who have been slow to warm to his candidacy.

“We’ve got to energize the party,” he told reporters yesterday. “We win elections by getting people to volunteer, to get on the phones, to call their friends, to register voters…I understand how hard this campaign is going to be.” “

Pundits can predict McCain will win in November when the kids are on the McCain for President phone bank — just as was done for Huckabee.

The Dude at the Victory party in Iowa

Photo Credit: Brooks Kraft from Time

Thank you (foot)notes:

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Read the entire article here.

Read more analysis at Northern Gleaner with The GOP’s Biggest Problem – The Enthusiasm Gap