Code Huckabee  —  Is the thought of Mike Huckabee as president just vaguely scary?  Or have we learned enough about the man that we should be hair-on-fire alarmed at the prospect, still pretty remote, that he could actually win?  —  True, none of his opponents for the Republican nomination inspires much confidence.

S.C. poll: Huckabee bolts to top of GOP; Obama cuts into Clinton lead  —  (CNN) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee surged to the top among Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina, while Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama among Democrats narrowed since July in that state, according to a new poll.

Paul foots bill for Huckabee critics' trips  —  LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Two former Republican legislators from Mike Huckabee 's home state are in Iowa this week criticizing Huckabee's record on immigration and taxes on trips paid for by Ron Paul, one of Huckabee's Republican presidential rivals.

Homespun Meets Hard-Line  —  DES MOINES — There is a frigid grandeur to the Midwest in winter — the dark stubble in snow-layered cornfields, chunks of ice bobbing down the Missouri River, stranded cars decorating the roadside.  —  I came to Iowa to see a series of rallies by the surging Mike Huckabee …

Hardball fun  —  Hardball tonight was great political TV, Penn and Axelrod sparring pretty hard while Joe Trippi sticks in the knife where he can.  —  Also, Matthews introduces the three as "starfighters."  —  Highlights include Axelrod making clear that his campaign only grudgingly …