NH Report, 1/5: Everybody is Kung-Fu Fighting

As the big crowd stuffed itself into the cafeteria/auditorium of the Londonderry Middle School, the Dunkin Donuts were snapped up immediately. And there were no carrot sticks to be found. This is clearly not Mike Huckabee's natural constituency.

But there is something in the turnout that shows that guitar-playing, Chuck Norris-escorting, "Christian leader," Mike Huckabee could do better among the ascetic, unflappable New Hampshire Republicans than might be immediately apparent.

As a social conservative, economic populist, Huckabee is not only the clear heir to the tradition of William Jennings Bryan but that of Patrick Buchanan -- who shocked the world with his strong showing against incumbent George H. W. Bush in 1992 and his victory over Bob Dole, Steve Forbes, Lamar Alexander and the rest of the field in 1996.

The difference is that Huckabee is not the "angry man." He is the "amiable man." He phrases his appeal to middle class voters not in terms of resentments but compassion. Today in Londonderry, he delivered something that was less than a presidential campaign stump speech than a secular sermon on hunger and poverty in America and the world.

But the real attraction of the "Huck and Chuck" show is the man Huckabee introduced as a "martial arts artist" -- Chuck Norris. If Ronald Reagan was the breakout of Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign perhaps this Picasso of beating people up can use his star turn to launch his own political career. Think of it: "Norris, Texas Governor."