Conservative politician Gary Bauer was among the prominent John McCain supporters who spoke to Arkansas delegates to the Republican National Convention this morning.

He had high praise for the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mike Huckabee. Bauer, who ran for president himself in 2000, applauded Huckabee for beating pundits’ expectations and said he was “looking forward to the role Gov. Huckabee is going to play in the administration of the next president of the United States.”

Bauer hasn’t always been so laudatory.

Last December, he slammed Huckabee for his immigration stance. In an e-mail to supporters, he linked Huckabee to longtime right-wing nemesis Hillary Clinton. He said GOP candidates who are soft on illegal immigration would have difficulty distinguishing themselves from Clinton.

And last October, he said this to Stephens Media in response to a question about Mike Huckabee’s fundraising ability:

“For better or worse, in American politics you can’t get your message out without a lot of money, and so far (Mike Huckabee) has not been able to show much movement in that area.”

His response today, about 10 months later:

“I never once said he doesn’t have enough money.”