Sit, Roll Over, Speak

Tim Russert isn't practicing his Christmas tree-ornament hanging technique. The Meet the Press host is demonstrating how John McCain is dangling the VP slot to Mike Huckabee. And Huck seems as transfixed as a hound before a bone, judging by the way he's staying in the race against all odds and spending his time taking shots at Mitt Romney.

Russert was a guest during the 7 AM half-hour of Morning Joe.

View video here.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: I had early on talked about how Fred Thompson spent his week in South Carolina going after Huckabee to help McCain. Yesterday we had Huckabee on and he spent four out of his five minutes here attacking Mitt Romney. And I asked, "well, why won't you attack John McCain as a moderate?" and he really had no answer to that. But it looks, just from here, and it's pretty easy to see --

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I think that's fair.

SCARBOROUGH: It looks like Mike Huckabee and John McCain have already done the deal: "you take the conservative out, I win, I remember you in the summer."

TIM RUSSERT: There's no doubt in my mind. The other day when Senator McCain proclaimed victory in Florida we mentioned there together at 30 Rock, he was just dangling the vice-presidency in front of Mike Huckabee.

BRZEZINSKI [amidst general mirth and hilarity]: Something was going on there.

RUSSERT: I mean, it may not -- it doesn't have to be the vice-presidency. It'll be something: Voice of America. He'll get a great job. The bottom line is: there is an alliance between Mike Huckabee and John McCain. There was an alliance between Fred Thompson and John McCain.