Mike Huckabee kept his sense of humor even as he dropped a second bid for the presidency.
The former Arkansas governor officially suspended his campaign last week after a poor finish in the Iowa caucuses.
He got out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, saying it was because of illness.
"Voters are sick of me," he explained.
Eight years ago, those same Iowa caucuses boosted Huckabee's presidential stock as he shocked other Republican hopefuls to win there.
He did then what U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas did this year, out-organizing everyone else and locking down support from evangelical voters.
There is a difference between those candidates. Huckabee is as likable as Cruz is unlikable. And there were no allegations in 2008 or this year of dirty campaign tactics by Huckabee or his staff.
Cruz' success in Iowa has been attributed in part to rumors reportedly circulated from his campaign of Dr. Ben Carson's departure from the race. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, didn't do well, but he has stayed in the race.
The 2008 Iowa caucus win propelled Huckabee to wins in six more states but his under-financed campaign folded by early March.
He pulled the plug this year a month earlier in the process, lost in a still too-large field of Republican candidates that includes Donald Trump, the billionaire who has upstaged other contenders, Cruz and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
So, as other campaigns are packing up in New Hampshire, heading to new battlegrounds, Huckabee is long done.
Incidentally, state Republican leaders had backed him and are now examining alternatives. Several are on board with Rubio and others have yet to decide.
As it turns out, Huckabee might have had stronger influence on this year's presidential race if he had kept his commentator job on FOX News.
That opportunity may open again, but Huckabee had to step down from broadcasting before he got into this year's race.
One legacy of Huckabee's 2016 bid is the shift of Arkansas' primary elections to March 1.
Both the presidential primaries and all local, state and federal primaries will be decided that day as Arkansas joins other Southern states in what is being called the "SEC primary." This year's version of Super Tuesday is among states with universities that compete in the Southeastern Conference.
The advisability of moving the primary is still in question.
There were two arguments for the change, so far as the presidential primary is concerned.
One is that a later date might leave Arkansas' voice out of the nominating process. In past years, party nominations have been secured so early that Arkansas voters were effectively left out of the decision.
The other argument was about supporting Huckabee's presidential bid. A win is a win in the primary war, even if it is from your small home state.
Hillary Clinton, who has deep Arkansas ties, may also benefit from the shift; but, rest assured, Arkansas' Republican-controlled Legislature didn't shift the primary date to help her or any other Democrat.
So, will Arkansas gain anything from being part of the SEC primary now that Huckabee isn't in it?
Maybe the candidates will spend some of their campaign capital here; but keep in mind who all will vote on March 1.
Seven other southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) as well as Massachusetts and Vermont will have elections. And Alaska and Minnesota will caucus then.
Campaigns must necessarily pick and choose where to invest the candidates' time and the campaign resources in all those venues.
There are states much larger than Arkansas and with more delegates to offer, so don't expect too much attention here.
Meanwhile, candidates for local and state as well as for district and federal office have all been forced into this unfortunate early timetable.
Commentary on 02/10/2016