Why does Mike Huckabee hate America? That's one question posed in the ongoing fallout from Mitt Romney's bizarre equation between continuing his presidential campaign and abetting "surrender to terror"? Dangerous stuff, that democracy. It makes people vote for casinos and other things of which Mitt wouldn't approve. (Neither would Huckabee, I might add.)

Huckabee, to his credit, is hanging tough and offering GOP voters a choice, not an echo. OK, it's arguably a crazy choice, replete with scary buddies. But we're Americans. We like having choices.

What's lost in this, by the way, is the overweening narcissism of Romney's remark. It's not that we have to put aside our differences; no, it's noble Mitt presenting himself as sacrificial victim -- cynically hoping to ring up some chits for 2012 as the man who put the good of the country ahead of his own personal ambitions. When he's actually acting in furtherance of those ambitions: "All right, so it's not in the cards for me this year. What can I do to position myself as the Chosen One four years down the road? By jingo(ism), I think I've got it!'

At least Mitt can use the next four years to brush up on his speaking style. Dear Lord, the man is boring! Were he the GOP nominee, let alone elected, sales of Sominex would crater. Forget Ambien: Just tune C-SPAN to a Romney speech and it's lights out, brother.

Yung's embrace (slightly) rebuffed. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) is scrambling to put distance between himself and the $1 million-plus that Columbia Sussex CEO William Yung III spent in furtherance of Beshear's gubernatorial ambitions. Beshear is denying that Yung has an "inside track" on a Bluegrass State casino. That doesn't change the fact that Yung received face time with Beshear's casino task force while Las Vegas Sands got the door slammed in its face. (Turns out Yung got two face-to-face meetings with Beshear, as well.)

Beshear's proposal would offer a preferential tax rate for Kentucky-based companies, a sweetheart provision that ought to be challenged in court. As for Beshear's eventual legislative sock puppet, er, sponsor, Democratic pajandrums say he "hasn't tee-totally been determined yet." Nice to know that sobriety is part of their decision-making process.

Baton Rouge bulletin. Yung's Columbia Sussex will swap its Belle of Baton Rouge and Amelia Belle riverboats, moving the larger Amelia-based vessel (which not so long ago served the New Orleans market) to Baton Rouge and vice versa. Despite rumblings that either Columbia Sussex or Penn National might cut and run if Pinnacle Entertainment got voted into the Baton Rouge market, it looks as though Columbia Sussex, for one, is dropping anchor and preparing to repel boarders.