Dan Bartlett is a smart guy, and his criticism of the GOP field is eye-opening, but his knock on Mike Huckabee strikes me as silly and bizarre:

As it happens, the Bush adviser was most enthusiastic about a contender who seems to have even less chance. He called Huckabee the “best candidate,” one who seems to most mirror Bush’s own vision of compassionate conservatism. “He is the most articulate, visionary candidate of anybody in the field,” Bartlett said. Initially, he admitted, he was perplexed that the former Arkansas governor was running. “But the more I watch him, the more impressed I become.” When it comes to advocating conservative positions on social issues, “he does it in a very positive, optimistic way.” But Huckabee probably cannot win, Bartlett added. “He’s got the obvious problems — being from Hope, Ark., and, quite frankly, having the last name ‘Huckabee,’” he said. “I hate to be so light about it, but it is, it’s an issue. Politics can be fickle like that. I mean, you’re trying to get somebody’s attention for the first time. … ‘Huckabee? You’ve got to be kidding me! Hope, Arkansas? Here we go again.’”

If a candidate is eliminated from contention because of the phonetics of his last name and hometown, I lose faith in democracy.