According to polling, Mike Huckabee is in the top tier of the GOP's field for 2012, but with the first GOP primary debate in just four months, he's taking none of the steps you'd expect to see from someone serious about running for President. In fact, it seems increasingly like he plans to sit 2012 out.
Jonathan Martin reports on one piece of evidence pointing towards Huckabee on the sidelines:
Huck adviser to be Hill CoS
Mike Huckabee and his top advisers insist that he's thinking seriously about running for president, but he's doing little to put together the sort of organization needed to mount a campaign. The latest evidence: Chip Saltsman, his campaign manager in 2008 and one of his closest confidantes, has accepted a job as Chief of Staff for freshman Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.).
In an interview, Saltsman said his taking the job should not be read as an indication about Huckabee's intentions.
"I have a Notre Dame clause in my contract," he quipped. "So I can leave if a presidential comes a calling."
And Ben Smith hits another:
Huckabee on cruise to Alaska in June
Mike Huckabee told me a few weeks ago that if he gets into the race, it'll likely be quite late.
And his plan to headline "the best Christian-based Alaskan cruise for the 2011 season" sure suggests he's not planning to spend the summer stumping.
Both Jonathan and Ben point out that Huckabee has said that if he's going to run, he won't announce his plans until late in the game. My hunch is that means the only way he'll run is if Palin falters and nobody fills the void with the religious right. Clearly, however, he's not interested in working hard for the nomination. It's even possible that he's got absolutely zero interest in running, but is still leaving the door open to maintain interest in his weekend show on Fox. Whatever the case, Huckabee's lack of intensity seems to be outdone only by Fred Thompson.