Mike Huckabee could win the Iowa caucuses. Not “run a strong third”, but actually, honestly win the thing. Outright. Beat ‘em all. Here’s what the latest Rasmussen poll shows:

Republican Iowa Caucus

And here are articles by

David Brooks

and

Dick Morris

published within the past 48 hours. Folks, the longshot candidacy of Mike Huckabee continues to shed the “longshot” label, and I’m telling you, this man actually now has a chance—yes, yes, I’ll still call it a relatively slim one, but a chance—to be our next president. I understand that nationally, the Rasmussen poll has him at 7%; I understand that he has much less money than do most of the other Republican candidates (though money is a very overrated commodity in political campaigns. You heard me.). But here’s how the scenario plays out: Huckabee, who is in a virtual second-place dead heat now with the much-ballyhooed Fred Thompson, is gaining fast on the now-sinking-a-bit Mitt Romney, and there are 2 1/2 months to go before the Iowa caucuses. This man has time to close the gap and win the thing; he’s within shouting distance of the lead, now (Rasmussen is the most recent poll). He’s getting press coverage and airplay and the more people see and hear Mike, the more they like him. Sam Brownback has pulled out, and Mike stands to benefit from Brownback supporters, given their ideological proximity.

OK, so he wins Iowa. This gives him a “bounce” of historic proportions, given how much ground he had to make up to do it. Evangelicals finally begin to believe that he can win, and their support shifts to him; they begin to get energized. He probably doesn’t win New Hampshire, but a strong showing there propels him to a win in South Carolina, and two wins in three primaries brings him to the top of the class. Conservatives nationwide begin to realize that they don’t have to settle for Rudy Giuliani, pseudo-conservative that he is, or Fred Thompson, nice but boring guy that he is, or Mitt Romney flip-flopping his way across America (notice, I don’t even mention the irrelevant guy from, where, Arizona?). The conservative bandwagon gets behind Mike Huckabee, whom conservatives realize would kick Mrs. Bill’s butt in every debate, and thus be electable, and before you know it, we’re saying “Mr. President” to Mike Huckabee.

OK, it might not happen that way, but honestly, honestly, how many of us three months ago (myself included) would have given Mike Huckabee any chance to win Iowa? Now, he’s right there in the thick of things.

This, folks, is starting to get fun!

UPDATE: Here’s Tucker Carlson interviewing Mike after the Rasmussen poll came out:

Huckabee keeps on rising