McCain is Kerry, Huck is Dean

By Aziz P. -
It's starting to look like John McCain is this cycle's John Kerry, at least as far as the electability argument goes. Since all the putative front runners are unacceptable to at least one segment of the GOP base, McCain is increasingly seen as the only "viable" alternative who is "acceptable" - and his South Caroline victory pretty much seals that view in the GOP mainstream (something that neither Iowa nor New Hampshire could have provided him). No one else has as much momentum as McCain now.

GOP primary results for South Carolina were at last count,

92 percent of precincts reporting

McCain 137,000 (33%)
Huckabee 123,117 (30%)
Thompson 65,108 (16%)
Romney 62,367 (15%)
Paul 15,235 (4%)
Giuliani 8,518 (2%)
Hunter 991 (0%)


Huckabee is the Dean of this cycle, pulling in a close second and thus far still second fiddle to McCain, though of all the others, he's got the broadest support. The one ticket that I think can present a strong challenge to Clinton or Obama is a joint McCain/Huck one and I don't see such a joining as improbable as Kerry/Dean would have been.

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