He’s gone, but not forgotten. I thought Ross Douthat, the New York Times’ Republican-friendly columnist, was worth a read on the Mike Huckabee decision to end a 2012 candidacy. It’s largely favorable commentary about a populist social conservative, a strong anti-elitist blend in Douthat’s view. But …
Of course, his 2008 campaign also reflected populism’s inevitable flaw: a desperate lack of policy substance. Huckabee won votes by talking about issues that the other Republican candidates wouldn’t touch, but his actual agenda was a grab bag of gimmicks and crank ideas. And nothing in his subsequent television career has indicated a strong interest in putting policy meat on the bones of his worldview.
