With Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) still far short of securing the Republican presidential nomination, Washington has begun its traditional parlor game of guessing his running mate.

A number of analysts and Republican strategists offered names that are already being bandied about, speculating about what the different candidates might bring to a McCain ticket.

But because McCain has a long list of Washington enemies, the subject of who might join him on the ticket has triggered perhaps higher levels of speculation than usual, as pundits try to figure out who might help him defend against the army of conservatives who for years have tried to derail his upward trajectory.

Those foes are waiting to pounce at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) convention, which starts Thursday. Some in the audience will doubtless offer suggestions for McCain when he addresses the crowd.

The early consensus is that Arkansas’s Huckabee put himself in a good position on any shortlist by again surprising the political world, this time with a string of Southern victories on Super Tuesday.

His wins over McCain and Romney in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas proved his strength in the region that is viewed as most essential to Republican hopes in the general election.

Huckabee and McCain have enjoyed a cordial competition, consistently avoiding bitterness and instead training their fire on Romney.

Huckabee’s camp on Wednesday said their man remains in pursuit of the nomination, but nevertheless had nothing but good things to say of the front-runner.

“While Gov. Huckabee has deep respect for Sen. McCain, he is focused on running his own race to be president of the United States,” spokeswoman Kirsten Fedewa said.

Romney has joined several analysts in saying Huckabee has helped McCain to the front of the pack by splitting the conservative vote with Romney in South Carolina, Florida and other states.