In Little Rock, AK, Huckabee addressed his crowd and quipped that for the last few weeks, everyone's been calling it a two-man race - "well it is, and we're in it!" And in some ways he's right. He was wildly written off, but his heavy dose of Christianity and clever spoken charisma have given him some power in certain parts of the country, namely, Dixie. And in the heart of God's Country, he wasn't shy on the metaphors. Tonight he proved, he said, that "one small smooth stone is more effective than a whole lot of armor."

But he's no David, and either McCain or Romney would have to play Goliath - a scary thought to say the least.

After thanking the people of Arkansas for his win, Huckabee lambasted government having its "foot on the neck" of Americans for too long: taxes too high, reulgations too onerous, the threat of litigation too hard on small business. The GOP once stood for a free market system, he said, and with his promise, it will again. "We're going to do it again," he said. "Because one of these days when I'm going to be president... I really do look forward to nailing the Going Out of Businsess sign on the front door of the IRS."

But he didn't keep his talk all politics. Good Ole Boy that he is, he had to bring it back to the mainstay of conversational life below the Mason-Dixon: college football. "Look, it's tough for this old Razorback to say things like Roll Tide, Roll, but I'm dong it tonight." It didn't stop there. "We're too volunteers... I think before the night is over I'll even be singing Rocky Top. This old Razorback may even be catching some Bulldog Fever. We'll forget all about the cotton bowl and even be grateful to our friends from the north." Note to self: this might explain the "regional appeal" thing.

But he won't let something trivial like - oh - the rest of the nation stop him. Huck's promised a fight. Rock-n-roll. For a candidate who plays bass guitar with the local bands whenever he can (better than a stump speech?) and who's got the almighty power of Chuck Norris on his side, there may be some energy in him yet. "This is our election, not theirs," Huckabee concluded. "It's our presidency not theirs."

Maybe Mitt ought to brush up on his football metaphors.