I’ve heard from several readers the argument that Huckabee remaining in the race helps McCain, as it means the Republican primary is still technically a competitive race, and thus the media will not ignore the GOP side. In fact, McCain Campaign Manager Rick Davis mentioned that idea today to reporters.
Unfortunately, campaign correspondents aren’t that stupid – or if they’re stupid, they’re stupid in a different way. The only race that generated any excitement on the Republican side last night was Virginia, and even then, as the night wore on, we learned McCain would enjoy a comfortable win. Routs like D.C. and Maryland don’t get in-depth coverage, and I can’t imagine that Washington state, Wisconsin, American Samoa, etc. will quicken the pulses of many campaign watchers in the coming days.
The drama is on the Democratic side, where we may be witnessing the Fall of the House of Clinton. Or maybe not; it’s still an extremely tight race over on that side of the aisle. That race is going to command the lion’s share of the MSM coverage in the coming weeks (or until there’s a clear winner), and Huckabee’s decision will have only the most marginal impact on that. While a few Republicans may complain that their guy is off the front pages, I don’t think that a ton of coverage of Democrats in February/early March will make much of a difference come November.