At least according to Marc Hansen of the DesMoines Register:
…this column’s vote for the most intriguing Republican candidate nobody’s heard of goes to … Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas.
[...]
Huckabee is a crazy hybrid candidate. He has this oddball theory on taxes, which happens to coincide with the thinking of most Americans.
[...]
And now for the most intriguing Democratic candidate you haven’t heard of: Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, and why haven’t you heard of him?
The only Democrat more qualified to run for president is Al Gore, and he’s busy polishing his Oscar.
I can’t speak about Huckabee but I think y’all know what I think of Richardson 
Technorati Tags: Bill Richardson, Mike Huckabee
Huckabee is interesting. He can advocate genocide, but in such a nice way that you don’t even notice what he’s saying. Nutball, but with a likeable sheen.
The guy that really left an impression on me was Ron Paul. The *only* guy up there who said something intelligent (i.e., that 9/11 was due, in part, to the actions of the US abroad) and he was all but stoned on stage for it. I don’t agree with his politics, but I’ve much respect for the man. I hope he stays in Congress for a long time. He’ll give both parties something to worry about.
Posted by MB | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 7:36 pmI missed last night’s debate but I saw the earlier one and Ron Paul was the one who left an impression on me. He certainly seems smarter than the rest of the bunch, and at least tries to be honest.
Posted by vjp | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 7:42 pmSooner or later we are going to have to negotiate our way out of Iraq– it’s obvious that the elusive ‘win’ we keep hearing about just ain’t gonna happen.
And when we do, I’d rather we have a professional handling the diplomacy than some inexperienced Senator.
Posted by Eli_Blake | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:28 pmSo niether of these two are going to make it to the top tier. The question is do we have a viable third party ticket here ala unity o8
Posted by novamiddleman | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 10:03 pmUnity 08 is one of the dumbest goddamn things I’ve ever seen. It’s up to you, to rebut, if you want to start carrying that cross.
Posted by MB | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 10:22 pmI can’t speak for Huckabee, but I think Richardson has a shot to get in the top tier.
Posted by vjp | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 10:23 pmFirst, who knows if Unity 08 will get off the ground
Second it will only be a spoiler either hurting the Repbulicans (perot in 92) or the democrats (Nader in 00)
Posted by novamiddleman | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 11:33 pmHuckabee has done well in both debates
The problem I see for both of them is the top tier can really only handle three people
So basically someone on each side would have to be bumped from the top 3 for either of these two to move up
Posted by novamiddleman | Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 11:34 pmI wouldn’t count Huckabee out. I served on the Education Commission of the States when he was chair and I found him to be smart, charismatic and supportive of things like arts education that aren’t the normal turf of Republican candidates. I found him to be a political conservative on the necessary Republican partisan touch stones but not focused on these issues as a personal cause. He plays guitar in a rock band, and speaks most evangellically about needing to address obesity in America as a part of reducing our health care costs (having lost 100 pounds himself). He is likeable.
Posted by Claire Gastanaga | Thursday, May 17, 2007, 5:20 pm