A few candidates who burst on the scene with little notice succeed; many others crash and burn.

From The Wall Street Journal:

[Mike Huckabee] is hardly the first candidate to burst on the scene with little notice. A few succeed, like Jimmy Carter; many others, like Howard Dean, crash and burn. The difference has much to do with outside factors, such as whether a candidate fills a particular void. Mr. Huckabee benefits from a splintered Republican field with no other candidate who appeals so strongly to social conservatives.

The compressed calendar is a big challenge, though. After Mr. Carter won Iowa in 1976, he had a month to prepare for New Hampshire. This year, New Hampshire came less than a week later. By barely a month after the Iowa caucuses, about half the GOP delegates will have been chosen.