Deja Vu All Over Again -- Huckabee and Romney, Carter and Udall

In my misguided youth I was a Democrat.

I excuse myself for this by remembering Winston Churchill's famous quote:

"If you're not a liberal when you're twenty, you don't have a heart. If you're not a conservative when you were forty, you don't have a brain."

Back in 1976 (thirty two years ago for those of you counting) I ran as an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention in New York State's old 39th Congressional District committed to Mo Udall, the Arizona Congressman who was also a Mormon.

I recall watching in disbelief the political rise of a Southern Baptist former governor of a small Southern state who was obviously in way over his head on matters of foreign policy.

When the New York Democratic Presidential Primary was held in April of that year, my candidate and my slate lost to that Southern Baptist former Governor. Seven months later, that governor was elected President, and the country suffered through four years of the worst Presidential Administration in American history (with a tip of the hat to Franklin Pierce's ignoble four year term from 1853 to 1857, which was ALMOST as bad).

Fast forward to January, 2008. A Southern Baptist former governor of a small Southern state has just defeated another highly qualified Mormon candidate in the Iowa Republican caucuses. This time, it's Arkansas' Mike Huckabee defeating Mormon and former Massachussets governor Mitt Romney.

Once again, I'm backing the Mormon, this time as an at-large delegate in the February 5th Republican Presidential Primary here in Tennessee.

We've seen the first part of deja vu in Iowa. Let's see if we have the second part of deja vu in Tennessee, or if there's a break in the pattern !