The AP chimes in on John McCain’s weak finish among Virginia values voters yesterday, with Fred Thompson’s former communications director blaming it on Huckabee’s refusal to leave the race:

“McCain will be our nominee and he is starting to consolidate the conservative base, but as long as Huckabee stays in the race … there will always be holdouts who find it easier to vote for Huckabee than to unify behind McCain,” said Todd Harris, a Republican strategist and former Fred Thompson adviser. “The best thing for our party would be to start the healing process now and unite behind McCain, but Huckabee’s campaign is standing in the way of that.”

God-o-Meter doesn’t buy this argument. Sure, the math makes it impossible for him to win the race. But Huckabee’s still winning some primaries outright and finishing respectably where he loses. Huck is part of McCain’s base problem, but McCain is a big part, too.

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