In a New York Times article today the Republican candidates are said to be scrambling in reaction and response to Governor Mike Huckabee's recent surge in the polls.  This wasn't in their original game plan and they are having to make some audible calls at the line of scrimmage.

Mitt Romney's campaign even used a football analogy in trying to make lemonade out of a sour situation in Iowa compared to just one month ago:

The campaign most immediately threatened by Mr. Huckabee’s rise was that of Mr. Romney. One senior Romney adviser, Ronald C. Kaufman, said of Mr. Huckabee’s campaign, “Am I worried? Of course I am.” But, Mr. Kaufman added, “At the end of the game, you want the ball in Tom Brady's hands, or the mike in Mitt Romney’s hands, and I have faith in our team.”

The problem with this comparison is that Mitt Romney is not 14-0 going into the playoffs.  He thought he was going to be 2-0 or 3-0 starting the primary season, but now may not win his first game and could end up 1-4 before Super Tuesday February 5th.

In the Rudy Giulinai camp they have chosen to spin the Huckabee rise as something that is actually good for his campaign:

The Giuliani campaign professes delight at Mr. Huckabee’s rapid rise, but it could ultimately cost Mr. Giuliani, whose drop in national polls came after news accounts questioned his business dealings and his personal life. Now Mr. Huckabee is essentially tied with Mr. Giuliani in several national polls, which could undermine one of the Giuliani campaign’s central arguments: that he is the strongest Republican candidate nationwide.

One of Mr. Giuliani’s chief political advisers, Anthony V. Carbonetti, dismissed the notion that Mr. Huckabee could politically endanger Mr. Giuliani. 

Giuliani's strategy to sit out Iowa and pay less attention to the early primary states in general is being questioned by many political pundits.  Rudy even scaled back advertising in New Hampshire this week after spending 1.7 million dollars there in the last month, apparently putting his focus on Florida.  One small snafu - new polls show Huckabee in the lead in Florida.  And to think that the Giuliani's staff doesn't think that Huckabee could endanger his campaign.

Fred Thompson is the candidate that has lost the most of his initial fragile support recently to Huckabee.  Starting with his negative attack ad at the CNN YouTube debate and now his sarcastic "apology" over the weekend to Huckabee for pointing out failed policies, Thompson seems the most desperate.

Also in the mix is Mr. Thompson, whose late entrance in the campaign failed to resonate with the conservative voters who are now flocking to Mr. Huckabee. Mr. Thompson sees Iowa as his best chance to get back in the game. So his campaign is moving to Iowa, where it plans two bus tours — starting Monday — that total some 16 days on the road before and after Christmas.

Huckabee is planning an Iowa bus tour also.  One wonders if their paths will cross or if their GPS routes wil overlap.  Imagine a Greyhound bus drag strip race - the problem is that Huckabee left the station a long time ago and Thompson just now figured out he needs to gas up his bus.

John McCain meanwhile has been hanging around but not making much noise in the political headlines positive or negative.  He reacts to the Huckabee surge with a spin analogy from the poker table:

“Mike Huckabee gives us a new deck of cards to play with,” said Mr. McCain’s campaign manger, Rick Davis. “And anything that gives us a new deck of cards is a good thing.”

This seems to be McCain's way of saying that his original strategy wasn't working, so why not just get a whole new deck and see what comes of it.  It's a statement that doesn't show confidence in his campaign as much as hoping to beat the odds in a Las Vegas game of political Texas Hold'em.

Right now all the candidates are just trying to find a way to hold back the continued rise of Huckabee in the polls.