Ronald Reagan is the patriarch of the Republican Revolution, in large part because he was able to get votes from both Republicans and Independents. Some thirty years ago, the elites in American politics considered him dumb. He didn’t know anything about foreign policy, Nor did he call on Washington to run his campaign. He never went to Yale or Harvard, just a small college in middle-America. He knew how to communicate, and the people loved him.

Some thirty plus years later, another Governor from a similar background who knows how to communicate has thrown his hat into the Presidential ring. He, too like Reagan, didn’t come from the East Coast elite college but from a small middle-American school. Like Reagan, he made his mark in a field where being able to communicate is key. His name, Mike Hucakbee. Like it or not, he’s driving the GOP pundits in America hysterical.

While his 2008 Presidential Obituary continues to be written, Hucakbee simply continues to move ahead and wages a campaign not built on anger but one he says is on hope. Or as he says many times on the campaign stump, “let’s give Hope a second chance” in referring to its former resident who became President: Bill Clinton.

Huckabee’s message of trying to get people to think Government can be good is like asking Dallas Cowboy fans to cheer on the Redskins or asking cats to like dogs…some things in life just won’t happen. However, in a time where all members of government have lower approval ratings than Rosie O’Donnell, Huckabee is promoting a brand of politics he calls “vertical instead of horizontal. “

In what started with the Democrats pure hatred of Republicans over the Clinton Impeachment, Washington politics has become even more of a zero-sum game. Add to the fact that Democrats still feel they won the White House in 2000 and 2004 plus the bitterness over the War…and that zero-sum game has gone into 100% full attack-and-destroy mode. The days of Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neal sitting down for a 5 o’clock cocktail are long gone.

Coming to Washington, George W. Bush thought he could change that. As Governor of Texas, he
built a reputation for being able to work with Democrats. The Top-dog Democrat in Texas, Lt. Governor Bob Bullock, worked with W to get things done for Texans…so much so that the two developed a deep friendship, one he thought would work in Washington D.C. Unfortunately for America, Bush has failed to move Washington back to the Reagan way.

For Huckabee, populism has been the key theme. With his never-changing core social beliefs combined with his likeability, the former Arkansas Governor has become a popular choice for Republicans. So much so it has spurred him from no-tier to near front-tier status. Even after weeks of mistakes and mishaps, he continues to defy the pundits who have said his campaign has committed “Huckacide.”

Just hours before the Iowa voters attend their Caucus, talk show hosts across the country have said the polls don’t reflect the week of blunders or blow ups. The ad that was an ad that then wasn’t an ad? It’s going to be the final nail in the coffin according to some. Daily attacks by Romney supporters, include a well known California talk show host, and being outspent 20-1 has be enough to end the campaign, right?

Problem is, it’s the voters who support Huckabee… and not the pundits. Iowans who were polled by Frank Luntz on Hannity & Colmes fired shots back that have to have the Romney campaign shaking in their perverbial boots. “I don’t’ believe [Romney’s ad is legitimate] because in Iowa we are issues based,” said one focus group voter. “I am not going to stand for a negative ad, I want to know what the candidate is going to do for me.” Another voter added, “I think we all agree we don’t want to hear it, all the negativity, it’s irritating.” Frank Luntz tried to get it going by asking, “It’s substance, [Romney’s] talking about Hucakbee’s record only to hear “tell us what you are going to do, not necessarily try and provide some information that maybe distorted…or that is not factual in some cases.”

Worse yet, listen to one voter who proves that Grassroots Republicans in Iowa can sense what campaigning is all about, “Romney was getting concerned that Huckabee was surging in the polls and anytime I see an ad like [Romney’s] it indicates to me like those kind of things are taken out of context to make sure voters have a question in their mind about what Huckabee is all about. “

Couldn’t have said it better myself, and it hasn’t played in Iowa. Mitt Romney may well indeed pull things out in Iowa, certainly the pundits are all predicting it. However, no one would have predicted Mike Huckabee surging to second place six months ago.

It could be a lose/lose situation for Huckabee when you consider two things. Should the former Arkansas Governor win Iowa, he’s already received a “Huckasurge” so he doesn’t get a bump for New Hampshire. Second place means the “Huckasurge” was indeed a “Huckabust” and he may not have the have the money or organization to keep going.

Understand this, all candidates have their drawbacks. Could there be another campaign year when a pro-choice/pro-gay/pro-gun control candidate could be taken seriously for the nomination? Could someone from Massachusetts with a record of flip flopping hope to be the nominee four years after America rejected someone from Massachusetts with a record of flip flopping from becoming President? Could someone who has voted against Tax Cuts and voted to end free-speech in campaigns become the GOP Nominee?

Mike Huckabee isn’t the perfect candidate, none are. He is for sure not the candidate for the elites on the East and West coast either. He simply hasn’t been taken seriously by those opinions one must covet when running for President.

Perhaps it’s because he was never expected to exceed single digits, or perhaps it’s because he didn’t ascend in the polls through the help of the punditry…whatever the case, Mike Huckabee is loved by the grassroots Republicans and that it is driving the inside-the-beltway GOP elites bonkers.

Come Thursday night, one thing is for sure, we’ll know who Iowans like and perhaps see either the most eloquent spin by the GOP elites or be able to offer some salt to go with that crow…my guess, it’s spin baby! That’s what makes politics fun.