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IMO Thompson and Romney are "seeing the light." I would be so happy if either Hunter or Thompson would win.

I'm sorry but I just don't trust that either of them have "seen the light" anymore than Huckabee has. What I see here is no action on the part of either Mitt or Thompson on handling illegal immigration when they held office, and a few campaign promises now. Hunter put through and got legislation passed for a border fence. He got one built in San Diego. Mitt and Thompson allowed illegal immigration to go on unchallenged. So Mitt and Fred promise to build a fence--so does Huckabee. I don't believe Huckabee is unelectable because of his skills in communication. Huckabee shines when Fred pauses and Mitt stumbles. Hunter does an amazing job when the press lets him speak.

Why is everyone giving Fred and Mitt a pass and jumping on Huckabee when there is just as much reason to jump on Fred and Mitt from the objections I have seen raised. All three should be looked on very cautiously.

In comparing Huckabee’s own words and actions with those of Romney and Thompson, Huckabee’s record on immigration is horrible. With Romney and Thompson there is at least hope of sanity. And Tancredo’s support of Romney means something.

One reason I think Thompson has credibility here more than Huckabee or Mitt is that he doesn’t have a record of changing his positions with the wind—or the campaign at hand. Huckabee and Mitt in their different ways have shown a troubling unreliability about their word and their campaigning methods.

Mitt may be given more the benefit of the doubt than Huckabee because he doesn’t support, as Huck still does, giving plum privileges such as in-state tuition to illegals. I don’t believe Huckabee has disowned his position there, just dissembled on the content of the bill he was passing. Also, because Mitt is from Utah and has been so active in the Mormon church, it is more readily believed that his eager-to-please personality will be turned ‘home’ now, toward the more conservative Mormon population, rather than to the liberal Massachusetts, to whom he may have temporarily sold his soul.

But I agree with you, Fred, though I think the best candidate, is not a perfect candidate either.

With Hunter doing so poorly, we don’t have a high-polling candidate with a proven record on doing something about illegal immigration. Romney comes the closest, having denied in-state tuition and DLs to illegals in MA.

This has been the Achilles heel of the GWB administration and a big one. Because of President Bush’s failure to enforce immigration law and border security, especially in the wake of 9/11, trust in the GOP per se has gone down. Ultimately, we don’t know who we can trust to do what his administration has failed to do, and his negligence has made it tougher for a Republican victory this year.