Oh, he's coming to Texas all right. But on Monday. To raise money for himself. Not to try to shmooze a bunch of Republicans that don't like him anyway.  Even Phil King of Weatherford was surprised.

Republican state Rep. Phil King of Weatherford helped lead the Texas presidential campaign for Huckabee, who was loudly applauded for a down-home speech Friday afternoon.

"I'm really surprised that McCain's not here," King said. "I've always been told that this is the largest gathering of Republicans in the country. I'm taken aback."

(Sometimes, Texas' convention outdraws the national event.)

King went over the case for McCain: "He's very strongly pro-life. He's strong on defense. I feel confident in his Supreme Court nominees. But he's not as strong on immigration as I want and not the fiscal conservative we need."