[DVaut1]

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Huckabee's got a money problem. Even if he wins or finishes a close second in Iowa, he has no time to (a) raise money or (b) actually campagin in NH. Right now he is getting good press. He needs that continue to overcome the lack of campaign funds. It might be better for Huckabee to write off NH. Not his type of state, anyway. Just go from Iowa to South Carolina.

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I think this is essentially the problem Pat Robertson had. He had a strong, surprising finish in Iowa in 1988 but then couldn't parlay that into success anywhere else because of various timing and campaign issues (and yes, because he's Pat Robertson). It's hard to pour all of your money and staff into a state, then pack your bags and expect to run a successful multi-state campaign in the matter of a few weeks, no matter how much momentum is gained.

In 2004, Kerry was well-positioned to go right from his surprising victory in Iowa and head to Massachusetts-neighbor New Hampshire (where he had a sizable campaign staff up until a few weeks before Iowa and had huge name recognition) and not miss a beat. If I'm the Huckabee team and I finish strong in Iowa, I follow your advice: I punt in NH and head right to South Carolina. Writing off NH and failing > trying to compete in NH and failing, especially when "trying to compete in NH" means wasting valuable time, energy and resources that could be spent in South Carolina.