Houston, TX-

Despite being down significantly in recent polls, GOP presidential aspirant Mike Huckabee is barn-storming Texas and like legendary Alamo leader William Barret Travis - who’s famous “never surrender” pledge he has quoted at every campaign stop here- Huckabee has pitched his defiant stake in the Lone Star soil, for better, or for worse. With only a couple days left before the election on Tuesday, Huckabee’s last stand is here, and now.

 In the past week, Huckabee has seen large , enthusiatic crowds regularly at his campaign events despite dismal chances of snatching the Republican nomination away from John McCain. Huckabee has consistently said that if he wins Texas then that would essentially impede McCain’s certain march to Minneapolis, and create a convention battle scenario in September among the  Grand Ol’ Party.

So like an angry cat backed into a corner, or those Alamo defenders that he incessantly discusses Huckabee is readying himself for one last fight. And one way to show sharp contrasts with McCain is to highlight their differences on border security, say Huckabee campaign staffers, a top issue here among Republicans in the reddest of states.

In Laredo today, Huckabee inspected  the U.S.-Mexican border with border patrol agents, and a posse of supporters including Rep. Duncan Hunter(R-CA), actor Chuck Norris, and Minute Man founder Jim Gilchrist.

Huckabee has been a staunch supporter of erecting a wall on the border, and other stringent border security initiatives. While McCain does not support equal measures, Huckabee refused to directly hit McCain, even when asked if  his opponent was “soft” on the issue. However,Huckabee did take a shot at those who supported “amnesty” for illegal aliens,a reference to the senator from Arizona’s failed immigration bill.

“I’m not going to characterize his position because I think that’s not really a healthy thing for me to get into. I still had rather have Senator McCain than I had Senator Obama or Senator Clinton as president,” Huckabee said, standing a hundred yards from Mexico.”If people are looking for someone who believes that this a serious issue that needs to be addressed with a greater level of resources and it can’t be overlooked and I don’t think amnesty is an answer and i think that’s, again,the wrong path for us to go and I do think strong border security is an urgent matter for the United States.  

Tigersville, SC-

GOP Hopeful Mike Huckabee, who has sharpened his anti-illegal immigration talk recently, as he competes for the first in the south primary of South Carolina, put an exclamation point today next to his hardening stance on border security.

At an event sponsored, by two anti-illegal immigration umbrella groups, Huckabee signed a “No Amnesty” Pledge, that read in part that as president he would oppose” amnesty or any other special path to citizenship for the millions of foreign nationals unlawfully present in the United States.”

Roy Beck, head of Americans for Better Immigration, one of the event organizers, said Huckabee was the only presidential candidate so far to sign the pledge.

When asked if his rival John McCain should also sign the pledge, Huckabee side-stepped the question with a customary joke.

“I’m not going to speak for him. I have trouble enough speaking for me. I mess up enough speaking for me,” Huckabee said to laughter in the room.” Now if I thought I could mess up speaking for him, I’d go ahead and speak for him.

Beck however responded a little more bluntly. ” I think everybody should take the same pledge or at least promise it in some other way,” Beck told reporters. “But I think he made it clear in the South Carolina debate last week that at least 10 million illegal aliens ought to stay here permanently.” Beck replied, a slight smirk crossed his face as he finished the last sentence of the press conference.