NBC and Wall Street Journal Republican Pollster, Neil Newhouse was already conducting a post-election survey last night to gauge where, both, the general public and the Republican voter feel the GOP should look in terms of the 2012 Presidential Election.  As they say, "it's never too early!"

From MSNBC (Yeah, I know...):

*** Some first clues: NBC-WSJ GOP pollster Neil Newhouse did a post-election survey last night, and here's what he found: Just 12% of those surveyed believed Palin should be the GOP's new leader; instead 29% of voters said Romney, followed by 20% who say Huckabee. Among GOPers, it was Romney 33%, Huckabee 20% and Palin 18%. Look for more from this survey later today.

No sooner does the McCain camp let it out that they'll announce the VP pick by next weekend does Mike Huckabee pop up and pop off...from all the way over in Israel no less.

From Huckabee's blog: 

Last week, there were reports that portrayed me as saying that conservative voters would be okay with Mitt Romney on the ticket with John McCain.  I didn’t say that.  I specifically said these things:

1.  That I committed to support the ticket and would do so.

2. That many conservatives would have a problem with Romney and that it had NOTHING to do with his faith, but his inconsistent views.  I said that I personally would still vote for McCain if he picked Romney, but thought there were many who wouldn’t, including many people who supported me.  I further said I hoped he didn’t pick someone to be his VP who wasn’t. pro-life. ...

Nice.  Romney could easily say the same types of things about the Huck...especially concerning conservatives who care about taxes and economics....or immigration.  But there is such a thing as being classy.

You have to wonder why someone who's been doing well in the polls would sink to attacking another person's faith, but that's what Huckabee's done in an interview with the New York Times, (to be published this Sunday).

In the interview, when questioned about his thoughts on Romney's Mormon faith, Huckabee says, "Don't Mormon's believe that Jesus and the Devil are brothers?".

For his part, Romney said that "attacking someone's religion is really going too far"

"But I think attacking someone's religion is really going too far. It's just not the American way, and I think people will reject that," Romney told NBC's "Today" show.

Asked if he believed Huckabee was speaking in a coded language to evangelicals, Romney praised his rival as a "good man trying to do the best he can," but he added, "I don't believe that the people of this country are going to choose a person based on their faith and what church they go to."

The WaPo has an article on the story, noting the position of the LDS Church in Salt Lake:

The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account.

A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.

"We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all," said the spokeswoman, Kim Farah. "That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for."

Hugh Hewitt comments:

No word yet on whether the former Arkansas governor asked if the Jews killed Jesus or if Catholics pray to Mary as a god.

When your campaign is in trouble, it is better to focus on the trouble and fix, not set it ablaze. 

For a candidate who's been trading on being the quiet, well-spoken, "nice guy" in the race, this comes off as desperate.  So what's up?  Well, here's the breakdown of the latest Strategic Vision poll, via MSNBC:

Huckabee and Obama continue to lead in Iowa according to a new Strategic Vision (R) poll which will be released tomorrow. On the Democratic side, Obama leads with 33% of the vote and Clinton and Edwards are statistically tied for second with 25% and 24%. Biden and Richardson each received 4%.

On the Republican side, Huckabee leads with 30% while Romney has 25%. Thompson came in third with 13% followed by Giuliani with 10% and McCain with 5%. The poll was conducted December 8 to 10 with 600 people from each party. The margin of error is 4.5%.

In other words, it looks like his lead is diminishing, which I'm guessing has something to do with the hits he's been taking on his positions on taxes and immigration lately.

****

(full disclosure: I'm on the Romney bandwagon!) 

More: Wizbang

We Pick ‘Em, You Click ‘Em:

On the trail…:

* Romney, Huckabee Even in Iowa - Yahoo

* Romney Maintains Strong Lead in New Hampshire - Yahoo

* McCain Flubs Joke with N.H. Audience - Fox News

* Hillary Cites Obama Kindergarten Statement as 'Flip-Flop' Example - Cybercast News

News:

* British 'Teddy Bear' Teacher Arrives Home - CBN News

* Bush: Iran Still Dangerous, Despite Break in Weapons Program - Fox News

* West Ignoring 'Systematic Persecution' of Palestinian Christians - Cybercast News

* Court Debates 'God' on Money and Pledge - KTVU.com

* Pakistan Arrests 'Code Pink' Protestors - The Washington Times

Opinion:

* Exposing Clintons' Lies - The Washington Times - R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.

* Can Diversity Destroy Us? - Human Events - Pat Buchanan

* Random Thoughts - Townhall.com - Thomas Sowell

News From Around the 'Sphere:

On the trail...

* GOP Hopefuls To Square Off in Party's First CNN/YouTube Format Debate - CNN

* Fact Check: Romney and the Crime Issue - Yahoo

* Streisand Backs Clinton Presidential Bid - MSNBC

* Huckabee's Rise Draws Attention to Record – Fox News

* Clinton, Obama Slugfest Gets Nasty - CNN

News:

* Researchers Implant Aborted Fetal Tissue in Mouse Hybrids – Cybercast News Service 

* China's Action Troubles Admiral - The Washington Times

* Musharraf Steps Down as Army's Military Leader - CNN

* Bush: "Time is Right, Cause is Just" for Middle East Peace Talks - USA Today

Opinion:

* People Before Prophets – Peggy Noonan - Wall Street Journal

* An Ethical Brave New World - Doug Patton - The Conservative Voice

* A Comeback for Communism - Steve Chapman - The Washington Times

We Pick ‘Em, You Click ‘Em:

On the trail...

* Romney to Huckabee: You’re No Reagan – CNN

* Ron Paul Endorsed by Nevada Brothel Owner - MSNBC

* Hillary Challenged on Illegals in Iowa – Washington Times

News:

* Senators Graham and Chambliss Threaten To Cut Iraq Aid – Yahoo

* Utah Trooper Memorials Ruled Constitutional – CyberCast News

* Senator Trent Lott to Retire By Year’s End - Yahoo

* Saudi Arabia Releases 1500 Al Qaeda Terrorists From Prison - Fox News

Opinion:

* Romney on the Brain – Justin Hart / MyManMitt

* Hillary Aide Scolds “Morning Joe” for Airing Party-Pooping Poll - Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters

In reality, it's past Time for some candidates to pack it in, but this is as good an occasion to point it out again as any:

...speaking of ugly numbers, Mike Huckabee's paltry $1 million raised for the quarter looks worse in light of his cash on hand -- just $651,000.  But Huck's money in the bank looks downright Clinton-esque compared to his rival Sam Brownback. The Kansas senator raised $804K in the quarter and, after blowing a lot of cash for a third-place finish at Ames, is less than $95 grand in the bank. 

Look, these guys are good conservatives, but the fact is that they are going nowhere.  It's not always a nice thing to point out, but campaigns are, in the end, about winning.  If you can't win, you need to get out of the way and help someone who can.

More importantly, from a conservative standpoint, these candidates only serve to further divy up the share of grassroots conservatives that are available to help other conservative candidates.  This fact is made that much more important when you consider that the only person who benefits from these guys' staying in the race is Rudy Giuliani - and he's NO conservative.  By staying in the race any longer, they make it more likely that Rudy could outpace a divided conservative field and win pluralities of support in states with winner-take-all delegate rules - meaning they're increasing the chances of a liberal, pro-choice nominee.

Time to get in touch w/these guys and give them, (along w/some of the other also-rans), the message that it's time to pack it in.

(full disclosure: I'm on the Romney wagon)

You can tell we're getting close to the Aimes straw-poll, (and a likely dooms-day for at least a few candidates), when you start to see the lower tier candidates go after each other with a lot of vigor.  In this case, we've got Brownback and Huckabee going after each other, or at least claiming that the other was going after them.  From the Brody File:

Mike Huckabee's campaign manager is absolutely blasting Sam Brownback and his "Christian character." Read more here about this argument, but basically this centers around the fact that a Huckabee supporter sent an e-mail to a bunch of Iowa Evangelicals asking them to reconsider supporting Brownback because he's Catholic. Huckabee issued a statement afterwards but the Brownback camp believed it didn't go far enough and wanted him to actually apologize.

Well, now Huckabee's campaign manager Chip Saltsman decided to lower the boom on Brownback.

It get's ugly from there...check out Brody's copy of the emails, but there's claims of "anti-catholic" whisper campaigns...claims of candidate hypocrisy, etc.

In short, Aimes is next Saturday, and these guys know somebody's not going to make it.  Granted neither has a chance to win in Aimes, but they're fighting for a strong enough showing to convince everyone else in the country (including donors) that they should keep going instead of folding up their tent.

It's sort of like Survivor...someone's about to get voted off the island, and they're getting nasty with each other.

(full disclosure, I'm on the Romney wagon)