Nikki Haley hedges her bets in the GOP presidential primary

She is trying to appeal to Cheeto's base by telling them that the war they lost was all about "freedom."

Freedom to enslave and kill others for not looking like them, maybe.  However, believing the Civil War was about "freedom" doesn't mean that Cheeto, his supporters, or her, are decent human beings.

From CBS News -

Nikki Haley defends leaving slavery out as cause of Civil War after backlash

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Thursday sought to defend earlier comments that failed to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War as she received backlash on social media. 

"I mean, of course, the Civil War was about slavery," Haley said on The Pulse of New Hampshire Radio program "Good Morning NH with Jack Heath."

"We know that- that's, that's the easy part of it. What I was saying was, what does it mean to us today? What it means to us today is about freedom. That's what that was all about. It was about individual freedom, it was about economic freedom, it was about individual rights," she said. 

[snip]

"Well, don't come with an easy question," Haley joked. "I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms, and what people could and couldn't do. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?"

[snip]

"I think it always comes down to the role of government, and what the rights of the people are," Haley said. "And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn't need to tell you how to live your life."

I believe that there are three possible goals of her behavior:

1.  She's wants to be the nominee.  She's closed the gap with Cheeto, and thinks that appealing to his supporters will put her over the top.

2. She wants to in second so she can be the alternative nominee in the (likely) event that Cheeto wins the nomination but is unable to run in the general due to his myriad issues.

3. She wants to be on the ticket as the VP candidate.

No matter how she's on the GOP ticket, no one in that primary is worthy is worthy of a vote.  Including her.