Rand Paul trying to sound more like a Republican

[BridgeTheGap]

VERSAILLES, Ky. — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has been a rock and roll guitarist since he was 11 and was a disc jockey when he was 14, so he knows timing, pace, rhythm and showmanship. And he's been a Baptist minister, so he can read and guide a crowd.

But Huckabee missed a lick last weekend at a fundraiser for Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul, and it allowed a glimpse inside a Kentucky GOP that has a most unlikely and unusual candidate — and perhaps some doubts about his appeal to moderate Republicans.

After Paul spoke briefly to the well-heeled gathering of about 100 at Tenlane Farm, Huckabee praised the libertarian ophthalmologist as a man of principle and conviction. “I'm not interested in electing any more thermometers to the Congress,” the former and likely future presidential candidate said. “He's not a thermometer. He's a thermostat.”

It was a great line, but it had been a long day for Huckabee, and his impromptu speech lacked a closing applause line, giving the opportunity for a woman in the front of the crowd to pipe up and speak directly to Paul.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101003/COLUMNISTS12/310030037/1016/OPINION/Al+Cross+|+Rand+Paul+trying+to+sound+more+like+a+Republican