What would the map look like with Obama vs. Romney or Huckabee?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I won't make any now (Most likely later), but I think Romney would've done worst, but not by that much. He wouldn't have been as harmed by the economic crisis, and wouldn't pull that idiotic stunt of suspending his campaign (That's what ruined McCain, how he reacted to the stock market crash, not the crash itself.) The more affluent Republican areas would trust him more. Of course his sleaziness and the fact that he seems like the people responsible for the crisis would hurt, and he'd do worse in rural areas because of this (plus the more voters abstaining refusing to vote for a black or a Mormon.) but he wouldn't do as much worse than McCain as was usually predicted.

Huckabee however would be a total disaster. Can you imagine seriously arguing that Mike Huckabee is the man the country needs to get through an economic crisis? He's already alienated suburban Republicans, that would turn into a giant collapse. Obama would've broken 60% in DuPage and would probably even take Orange County. Huckabee would only win the states he'd win on racism or the hardcore socially conservative base. The eastern half of the country looks the same but he also loses the Dakotas, NE-1 and thus NE-AL, Montana, Arizona and Alaska. The national map doesn't look much different, but the county map would be absolutely brutal. Obama might actually carry every county in New Jersey for example.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Actually if you asked me back in January and told me Palin would be a serious consideration (of which I would be skeptical), I'd say Romney would be more likely than McCain to choose her, as he was more in need of evangelical boost.