'Heckuva run'.

FOR FORMER GOV. MIKE Huckabee, the race for the Republican presidential nomination is now over. He finally bowed out after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., won enough delegates to give him the nomination. He told supporters that it had been a "heckuva run."

We have to confess to some surprise that Huckabee did as well and lasted as long as he did. No doubt we underestimated the large appeal of the man -perhaps due to the lens through which we viewed him for the past dozen years as governor and lieutenant governor. Familiarity didn't exactly breed contempt, but it did make us forget just how charming Huckabee can be.

And no doubt, somewhere down the road, now that his name and what he stands for is known throughout the country rather than just here in Arkansas, he'll probably seek the office again if McCain fails later this year to win the presidency.

He could come back to the state and seek a Senate or House seat, and he has vowed to keep working for the issues he believes in, including opposing abortion and replacing the Internal Revenue Service with a national sales tax. (Like Huckabee, that idea becomes less appealing the more familiar with it one becomes.)

Huckabee ran a remarkable campaign and our hat is off to him. Starting out with almost no name recognition and no money, he caught on with a large portion of conservative Christian voters, winning three state caucuses and five primaries.

Although he raised only about $13 million, the quick-thinking and quick-talking former Baptist preacher outdid Mitt Romney, who spent nearly $90 million, as well as Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and others who had every reason to expect more success. His rise on the scene forced big changes in the race that gave McCain the nomination.

We have to agree. It was a "heckuva run."