New CNN Poll: Palin and Huckabee front runners

CNN issues a new poll (Feb 27) showing a tight race among 2012 candidates:

1. Sarah Palin 27% 29%

2. Mike Huckabee 26%

3. Mitt Romney 21%

4. Bobby Jindal 9%

Overall:

The poll is good news for Huckabee; bad news for Romney; solid news for Palin; 2016 news for Jindal.

Mike Huckabee: Yesterday, we wrote that Mike Huckabee was in danger of becoming a popular; not political figure.

While Governors and Senators have been grappling with the practical and political consequences of votes and budgets, Huck's been literally sitting in his Fox studio, playing bass guitar, and piping up every now and then with a quip or three about mice and MSBS.

It's fun, but it's not a record. It's Will Rogers; not William Wilbeforce.

Well, flush that down the toilet. If you can be the front-runner without sweating, why run the marathon?

Mitt Romney: He's clearly still not connecting.

Since the economy caught the plague, GOP talking-heads have been talking their heads off about the Second Coming of Mitt.

So smart. So eloquent. So handsome. So 3rd place.

Right now, the party seems to be using Mitt like a star pitcher with an expiring contract. You work him to death, because you know you don't have to sign him long-term.

Republican voters still aren't falling for him, and here's why that's so dangerous for Romney: Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee should be splitting the populist vote; thereby creating a perfect opening up technocrat lane for Romney.

But that's not happening. What is happening is 2008 all over again. Romney the President sells better than Romney the Candidate.

Sarah Palin: Ironically, expect Palin to remain the paragon of polling stability. If she has more weekends like this (e.g. staying home to work, while the others take turns pandering to kids who like putting on suits and ties but don't have jobs) expect her numbers to remain even.

She won't lose her die-hards, and she won't get many die-hard sequels.

And that's not a bad thing -- For now.

Eventually, she'll have to get those sequels made, but she has plenty of time to make sure the script's right, the lines are clear, and the direction certain.