MILWAUKEE -- As of this writing, Mike Huckabee, the Republican ex-governor of Arkansas, is leading the polls in Iowa for the GOP and is in second place nationwide behind Rudy Giuliani. This is a stunning development considering that he has raised a fraction of the money of Giuliani and Mitt Romney, who is his No. 1 competitor in Iowa and who he is running against for the support of the Evangelical right. My question is, can this country really elect a man as president who does not believe in evolution and who said in a sermon when he was a preacher that he believes Adam and Eve were real people? (Go to salon.com/warroom to read an interesting article about Huckabee and his beliefs.)

I believe that the religion of a president does not matter. A president can believe what he or she wants as long as it does not interfere with his or her decision making. But still, not believing in evolution is a cut off for me. There are basic tenets that a president must accept, I believe, and evolution is one of them. To not believe in evolution should disqualify Huckabee from the presidency right away. For that matter, I would not want a president who believes the Earth is round.

Fortunately, I do not think Huckabee has a chance of winning the whole race. He is polling a double-digit deficit whenever voters are asked who they would vote for, him or a Democrat. I think he is running more for vice president, and whoever wins the GOP race will pick him. He is the perfect person to pick to appease the conservative Christian right, because whichever presidential candidate wins the GOP nomination will need to appease the Christian right to have a chance in the general election. Still, what does it say about our country that a man who does not believe in evolution and believes that Adam and Eve were real people is in contention this far into the political season?