The McCain-Huckabee lovefest continues:

Super Tuesday started in West Virginia where the Republicans picked their 18 delegates at a convention. And they did it the only way Republicans know how to relate to democracy-- with intrigue. On the first ballot Romney was way out ahead with 40.9% to Huckabee's 33.1%. McCain and Ron Paul each had something over 10%. On the second ballot the McCain voters basically all switched to Huckabee, preventing poor Willard from winning. The final ballot was Huckabee 567 to Willard 521. (Only 12 voters stuck with McCain; Paul, with the fewest votes, was eliminated after the first ballot.)

A right-wing Romney operative, John McCutcheon, was fuming: "These are the juvenile actions of a morally bankrupt campaign." Willard's campaign manager, Beth Myers also took a swipe at McCain and his typically sleazy operations. "Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change. Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today's first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."

The warmongers and the snake handlers. That McCain/Huckabee ticket is shaping up to be a real dilly.