Watching & Waiting For Gov. Huckabee

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he'll soon decide whether or not he'll run for President in 2008.

Huckabee will probably make the call around the holidays (don't they all?) and then announce it to the impatient press corps shortly thereafter.

But some in the punditry just can't wait, and therefore Huckabee will pay for it in the early buzz. Take Chris Cilliza of The Washington Post, who is already knocking Huckabee off his top 5 list. Cilliza takes a shot at Huckabee for failing to get his organization up and running in key early primary/caucus states.

"On the Republican side, we drop Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee from the top 5 as he continues to show no signs of building any sort of organization in states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. In the words of the famous philosopher Yogi Berra "It gets late early out there"; it is getting late in the presidential game for Huckabee, who enjoys neither the name recognition nor the demonstrated fundraising capacity that others in the GOP field possess."

Still, there are some indications Huckabee is taking steps behind-the-scenes to get his ducks lined up. The Boston Globe reports that Huckabee has already named his New Hampshire chair.
A big clue to Huckabee's decision may be his forthcoming book, "From Hope to Higher Ground," which is due out next month. Bottom line, when you run for President, you've got to have a book. Huckabee says he'll ultimately make his decision about '08 after reading support in early states and gauging reaction to the book.

If he enters, Huckabee will immediately become a lower-tier candidate on the G.O.P. side, but he will attempt to carve out running room on the right. Key question: Who is the better true-blue conservative candidate? Huckabee or Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who is already in.