Finding himself trailing John McCain in the South Carolina GOP primary, Mike Huckabee is looking for a quick way to shore up support from conservatives in this state.  Taking a page from the Mitt Romney in Michigan playbook, Huckabee Thursday gave supporters a heavy dose of “what do you want to hear?”

In doing so, the former Arkansas governor attempted to tackle the issue of the Confederate battle flag being displayed on the Statehouse grounds when he said the federal government should stay out of such state disputes.

“You don’t like people from outside the state coming in and telling you what to do with your flag,” Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, told supporters Thursday in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“In fact, if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we’d tell ‘em what to do with the pole, that’s what we’d do,” Huckabee said.

He did not say whether he considers it offensive to fly the flag, a symbol of racism to some and Southern pride to others, saying only that the matter should be up to the states. That was the position of his rival John McCain when he ran for president in 2000; after losing, McCain said he had not been honest about his feelings and that the flag should go.

Ironically, Huckabee is barnstorming South Carolina with former Gov. David Beasley, who angered conservative Republicans by calling for the flag’s removal. [LIBBY QUAID - AP]

This isn’t a bad move to pick up some last-minute votes, but there’s something about having Beasley by his side that will probably negate the influence.