What, The Huck?

As we draw ever nearer the Iowa caucus, two questions on the Republican field continue to vex me:

#1 Who are these conservative Republicans who are supporting Mike Huckabee? I feel a sense of bewilderment similar to the one attributed (probably falsely) to Pauline Kael after the 1972 election, how can Huckabee be doing so well when no one I know supports him? I know Romney supporters. I know Rudy supporters. I know Ron Paul supporters. I know McCain supporters. I even know a few Fred supporters (more on that). But to the best of my knowledge, I don't know anyone who supports Huckabee. Who are you people and what do you see in him?

#2 Why isn't Fred Thompson more popular? Across the board, I would say that he has the most consistently conservative views. He's the only candidate with a detailed plan for social security and he seems to have the "right" positions on taxes, abortion, the war, and immigration. Yet, according to the latest national polls (WSJ-sub req), he's languishing in fifth with a mere 11% of respondents supporting him.

This question is a personal one too because I can't figure out exactly why I'm not a Fred supporter either. It's not as if I've been wowed by any of the other candidates. It basically comes down to the one whose limitations I can best live with along with having a reasonable chance of winning the general election. I'm not sold on anyone right now, but for some reason Fred doesn't usually even figure as a possibility. Some might say it's because his campaign hasn't been energetic enough, but then whose has? Rudy, Romney, McCain, and Huckabee haven't exactly been blazing on the campaign trail either.

It's been an odd run so far and I expect it to get even odder before we settle on a nominee. More troubling questions are sure to come up before we're anywhere close to a final answer.