Rich, I think you’re right: This “Merry Christmas” thing is ingenious. In essence, it’s playing the secular media off against his GOP rivals in order to solidify his base. I’m no Huckabee fan but, like Peter, I think he’s been amazingly nimble and very sophisticated – as a campaigner, I hasten to add: the policy’s another matter.
I wonder what the long-term consequences will be for the GOP. Huckabee turns the conventional wisdom on Republican outreach on its head: Instead of being fiscally conservative and socially “moderate”, he’s culturally conservative and fiscally populist. But right now he’s making these big-money consultant-led rivals look very arthritic.