Hitting the nail on the Huckabee

Yesterday, Gail Collins, in a single sentence, encapsulated the resurgence of the Huckabee campaign.

The Huckabee strong suit is morality and the Republican voters are clearly yearning for someone without a record of spectacularly public adultery who also does not remind them of a snake-oil salesman.

Bingo! The GOP base craves a moralizing theocrat with a consistent track record on the social issues and Huck fits that bill. But as Collins points out, the former Governor carries baggage of a different sort:

It turns out the guitar-strumming, good-humored populist has never met a present he didn’t want. Huckabee managed to pile up $112,000 in freebies in a single year as governor. I can see how he would feel constrained to politely accept a picture of a duck or a cowboy hat, but $48,000 in clothing? A discount card for Wendy’s? A chainsaw?

Wedding gifts are exempt from ethics restrictions in Arkansas, and when Mike left office, the Huckabees — who have been married for more than 30 years — were signed up on the Target wedding registry so fans could help furnish their new 7,000-square-foot home. “Message from the couple: Target GiftCards are welcome,” added the registry helpfully.

While the morals issue clearly helps Huckabee, his penchant for receiving gifts may open him up to ethical questions similar to those that once dogged another former Arkansan presidential contender. Anyone remember Whitewater?