In my previous posts about the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, I noted that nine Republican presidential candidates would be in attendance this weekend. Scratch that. There will only be six.

Mike Huckabee, who was supposed to share the platform at lunch with Mitt Romney, was forced to cancel when he apparently missed a flight and would have had to fly an expensive charter to Mackinac Island. Because campaign-finance rules would have required him to pay thousands more for the flight, he opted to skip the event. Huckabee issued this statement last night:

Thanks to a new law by Congress that went into effect Monday, we were prohibited from using the air transportation that was being provided that made getting there possible. Commercial airline schedules couldn‚Äôt get us there until after things were over Friday ‚Äì and we would have to have left even before they started on Saturday. The new rules are fine if a candidate has unlimited money or its own plane, but for those of us who don’t, it has really hampered our ability to get places.

I was really looking forward to attending the Michigan event this weekend, but unfortunately the realities of my schedule overcame my ability to get there, on time to speak and meet with supporters. I called the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party to express my regret and the rationale for my decision, and I appreciate his understanding of this most unfortunate development. I know that this will be a tremendous event and I wish all participants a successful weekend in what is truly one of the most scenic parts of the country.

Two of the speakers scheduled to address the Republican faithful this morning, Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Tom Tancredo, also didn’t show. Tancredo had apparently backed out last week, but Brownback was a late scratch. I don’t have any details about why he chose not to come, but the result was a lengthy speech by Rep. Ron Paul.

Paul used his time to attack free trade, slam big government and criticize U.S. involvement in Iraq. Some of it was good, but Paul seemed to focus too much on minutia. It was also mostly negative and depressing — hardly what high-spirited activists wanted to hear at 9 in the morning. He had a hearty band of supporters to cheer him on, but nowhere near the applause Giuliani received last night.