We are six weeks away from the Iowa caucus, and as has frequently been the case, Republicans in the Hawkeye State are beginning to shine the light of their noble countenances on a candidate with no chance of winning the nomination. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is bidding fair to serve as this season’s “Republican Guy Who Is Coming Out of Nowhere to Place a Surprising Second in Iowa.” He follows in the Surprising Second tradition of Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, and Steve Forbes, the salutatorians of the caucuses in 1988, 1996 and 2000 respectively. The failure of these candidacies to make any real headway after Iowa (even though Buchanan won the New Hampshire primary a few weeks later) indicates just how little meaning anyone should attach to the Surprising Second. These Roman Candle candidacies do serve to remind other candidates, as Huckabee’s surge is reminding candidates this year, of the importance of social-conservative views to a significant swath of the the Republican electorate. But who didn’t know that already this year?