A Full Nine Innings

Watching Huckabee on Meet The Press this morning, I can't help but get a little frustrated by the way he's been treated by the pundit class since New Hampshire.

First of all, he's much less of a lost cause than they thought he'd be. He has won non-trivial states with hardly any money.

Second, even in states where he loses, he still does better than Giuliani and Thompson ever did when they were in the race.

Third, people turned out to vote for him yesterday, even when it's clear that it's a mathematical near-certainty that he can't win the nomination.

Fourth, he survived a month of savage attack from National Review and the GOP establishment it represents and is still standing. McCain did this too, but he had name recognition. It's now clear to anyone but the establishment itself that the lockstep party model is now unworkable.

So why are journalists so confused about why Huckabee is still running? It's clear that he'll win at least a few more states. Unlike Romney, he isn't spending his own money. And who says the media and party elders have the right to tell a candidate to throw in the towel? There isn't a mercy rule in professional sports because professional competitors are expected to finish what they started and play their hardest for the people who root for them. Mike Huckabee is going down with a little dignity, refusing to grovel to the front-runner and vanish in shame like Romney at CPAC.

But what about the damage that could be done to the party as the race continues? Nobody will ever accuse me of worrying about the health of the Republican party, but I don't really see the GOP doing any damage to itself by letting this thing play out. McCain won't agree to acrimonious debates and Huckabee won't go Rove-style negative. If everyone bows out, nobody will talk about the Republicans anymore, no matter how many photo-ops McCain holds to stay in the news.

So why not let the guy fight on?

Photo reprinted on a Creative Commons license from Flickr user djbones.