What is Mike Huckabee's secret sauce? The Washington Times talks to a campaign consultant who thinks he knows:

That Mr. Huckabee has a knack for connecting with voters is obvious, but Rich Thau, a campaign communications consultant who is conducting focus groups on the debates, has measured it and says Mr. Huckabee was literally off the chart in one of his answers in last weekend's debate.

Mr. Thau does dial-testing, in which voters constantly rate performances by turning a dial to indicate their approval of what a candidate is saying. He posts his results on his Web site, www.messagejury.com, and he says in last weekend's debate, voters scored Mr. Huckabee's blunt "Let's get it done" answer on energy independence at a 98 out of 100, putting it in the realm of "motherhood and apple pie."

"He has yet to deliver a dud response in any of the four GOP debates," Mr. Thau said calling him the Ted Williams of the debates for combining consistency with his ability to hit a home run. "Huckabee has that ability to bring the entire issue down to a single sentence where people go, 'Yeah, that makes sense to me.' "

Rich Thau has the "get it done" answer and the audience reaction to it on his website here. Fascinating stuff.

My tag on Mike Huckabee remains. He's personally compelling. Has a great background for a run on the presidency, but the odds are just very high this year. Rudy Giuliani will be tough to beat. Mitt Romney even tougher. Fred Thompson is now sucking up some of the oxygen Huckabee needs. Sam Brownback is fighting him for the religious right vote.

I like Huckabee, I would personally be very happy to see him win the nomination. He's a fresh face, he has the connection ability, his head is screwed on right around a lot of issues. But the odds are just too long this cycle. He needs to hit a home run everytime he's up at bat from now until January. Iowa was just such a home run, but he needs more.

On the other hand, the comparison needs to be made. We have a little known governor from Arkansas (born in Hope, Arkansas to be exact) who has no national experience but great ability to connect with an audience. Remind you of anyone?