Huckabee Out In Front For Republicans In 2012

Mike Huckabee must think that anything is possible with Chuck Norris by his side, and the latest polls only help to prove that point.

The former Arkansas governor and Chuck Norris-endorsed 2008 presidential candidate is making strides in a race that no one is truly running just yet -- the 2012 presidential campaign. He's on top of a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey that was released on Tuesday, getting the nod as the possible candidate that 22 percent of polled Republicans would most likely support.

Among the others topping the list were former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who both ended up with 21 percent in the survey (which had a sampling error of 4.5 percent, putting all three of the candidates in a statistical dead heat).

Despite the potential for error, this survey is very telling about the changing feelings of Republicans when compared with the same survey conducted 3 months ago. Sarah Palin was the leader in that survey, with 29 percent of the polled Republicans choosing her as their candidate to most likely support. This change may be due to many Republicans now finding her to be an unwelcome target for Democrats and unlikely winner in 2012.

Another interesting note from both of these polls is that Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana who was thought to be the rising star of the Republican Party, appeared 3 months ago with 9 percent support in the survey. In the survey released Tuesday he doesn't even garner enough support to pass former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's 6 percent share.

The drop of Sarah Palin's and Bobby Jindal's numbers could mean a number of things. Republicans may no longer be looking for a game-changer like what Barack Obama was for the Democrats. They may just be looking for a solid conservative (someone like Huckabee) with as little baggage as possible and the smallest target attached to their back. Avoiding two things that may have led to the 2008 loss, a moderate in McCain and a media target in Palin, wouldn't be a very surprising strategy.

Of course, Sarah Palin's and Bobby Jindal's numbers dropping may just mean that they weren't as cut out for the attention and demands of a long-term campaign as many believed.

These survey numbers important indicators of how Republicans feel about the presumed leaders of their party and who they want to lead it going into the future, but it is difficult to say who else might enter into the 2012 presidential race between now and then. There's even been some speculation that Republicans might try to rally behind General David Petraeus in 2012.

The truth is, going with what we know from this survey and the potential players in the 2012 Republican race, it's safe to say that guitar playing Mike Huckabee will have a strong share of the spotlight.