Huckabee: Louisiana's GOP caucus is 'goofy'

Mike Huckabee won the GOP caucus in Louisiana on Saturday, beating John McCain 43 t0 42 percent.

But Huckabee doesn't get to add Louisiana's 20 delegates to his total because he didn't break a 50 percent threshold.

In a brief interview Tuesday morning, Huckabee also said he was persuaded not to campaign in Louisiana by state party Chairman Roger Villere's decision a week earlier to endorse his rival for the nomination, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"The state party chairman sent out a letter saying don't bother," Huckabee said before a roundtable with reporters.

Huckabee beat McCain in Louisiana 43 to 42 percent. But because of state Republican Party rules, none of the 20 delegates up for grabs are awarded unless a candidate gets 50 percent of the popular vote.

"It's goofy," Huckabee said. "Well, it's Louisiana."

Ah, quit your whining. The problem isn't Louisiana. The problem is the Louisiana Republican Party. It's their goofy rules that keep the delegates from being seated.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton walked away with 34 and 22 delegates, respectively. You could argue the relative merits of proportional versus winner-take-all awarding of delegates, but at least Louisiana Democrats know their votes count in the primary.