It’s well-known that many conservatives are not exactly wet in the pants for current GOP front runners Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson. Rather, many of the most conservative are pumped by Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who actor  Chuck Norris is supporting. But he’s running at fourth in most polls, which doesn’t bode well for his prospects at this point.

So, some are asking Huckabee to do the unthinkable: form a third party and try to steal the GOP spotlight, much like Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan have done in the past. Republican party leaders are desperate for that not to happen, and some hope that the winner of the GOP race will ultimately tap Huckabee as VP.

“Influential conservatives are clashing over whether Mr. Huckabee is capable of keeping evangelicals from fleeing the GOP to form a third party or if he’s too liberal fiscally for the Republican electorate,” the Wash Times reports. “The battle is bubbling into the public arena, fueled by fears that a three-way race could hand the presidency to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton or another Democrat, and by murmurs of Mr. Huckabee as a vice-presidential candidate on the party’s ticket.”

Who knew that a guy in fourth place could have so much pull? Stay tuned….