So Huckabee knows nothing about the Middle East. His supporters won't care--they know even less. Maybe his ignorance will dissuade him from getting involved in the Middle East. I wish it'd dissuaded Bush.

Unfortunately, Bush's follies have made basic knowledge of the Middle East (or at least a sincere desire to learn a lot, fast) more important than ever.

Huckabee is definitely running as the big-government, compassionate conservative Bush ran as in 2000 (as Anonymous notes), but I don't see how this means he wants to be a Bush-style global interventionist.

In any event, Huckabee's comments display a hilariously, ignorantly, scary outlook on the Middle East:

There are a lot of options that involve other territory that doesn't have to include the West Bank or the Golan Heights. There is an enormous amount of land in Arab control all over the Middle East.

Uh, don't worry, folks, plenty of Arab land to go around? And one piece of land is just as good as any other? It's all ancestral holy land! Are you friggin' kidding me? Yowzah!

Allie_ makes a good point.

Let's suppose poor blacks are primarily responsible for their own plight. Through their own willful ignorance and/or laziness, they rob, they kill, they make babies they can't afford and they underachieve.

It's still in the community's interest to get them not to do these things. Otherwise, the rest of the community has to support them through welfare and the prison system and the rest of the community is victimized by their robberies and murders. And you know what poor, disaffected and hopeless people do? They commit crimes. For the good of all of us hardworking, responsible folks, we want fewer poor, unhappy, disillusioned folks in society.

Slackie Onassis writes: Seems like a ploy to drive away undecideds, independents, and moderates from the GOP primary process in Virginia, leaving only the brimstoners to flock to the polls, to support a "fair and balanced" Republican candidate to emerge from the process.

Exactly. Primary voters already tend to favor more "extreme" voters who will vote for more "extreme" candidates. This loyalty oath could drive away moderates from the primaries altogether. Which, incidentally, is damaging to the long-term health of the Virginia Republican Party. Red State Virginia is currently swinging towards becoming a Blue State. The state overall won't vote for an extreme nominee if he/she wins the Republican primary. If the Republican Party tries to push more right-wing candidates now, they'll definitely lose the state.

Romney on black-on-black crime:

YouTube question: Hi, this is me and my son Prentiss. We're from Atlanta. I want to ask you guys a question (inaudible) every year. But what about the war going on in our country, black on black crime? Two hundred to 400 black men die yearly in one city alone. What are you going to do about that war? It feels like the (inaudible) is right outside.

-

Cooper: He's talking about black-on-black crime, crime in the inner cities.

Governor Romney?

Romney: Well, first of all, Printes is pretty fortunate because he's got a dad standing next to him that apparently loves him by all appearances there, and that's probably the best thing you can do for a kid is to have a mom and a dad.

Romney is pleasantly surprised that black men can be present and actually love their offspring. Romney later references the only black guy he's heard of--Bill Cosby. Which pretty much answers another debate question "Who don't African-Americans vote Republican?"

And darn proud of it. This is the executive leadership he'd bring to the White House (unlike other candidates who've "never run anything."). So, of course the advisors Romney will turn to are other businessman--like Cofer Black of Blackwater. In Romney's eyes, the best advisors are those with a financial stake and bias in the outcomes.

After all, it worked so well under Dubya.

You make an excellent point.

Romney's using torture to "multi-task." Hey, if we don't get reliable and actionable intelligence, at least we made the guy suffer!

It gave us a little snapshot which, with the other one zillion debates, gives us a fuller picture.

From this debate I learned:

• 1.) Republican candidates are so craven they can't even admit they don't follow the Bible literally
• 2.) They find brown people so scary they can't understand why some people might want immigrants or illegals here.
• 3.) They hate Hillary Clinton.
• 4.) They think tax cuts only are the solution to everything.
• 5.) They say abortion is murder but don't want to throw anyone in jail for it.
• 6.) They think Democrats are denying that terrorism exists.
• 7.) Republicans still don't care about black people.
• 8.) They're afraid to say the name George W. Bush.
• and 9.) McCain, with his flaws, is the only grown-up among the candidates.

Actually, I knew all of that already.

I know, it's truly impressive. Clearly Team Giuliani uses "details" in more of a New York fashion scene sense--details as shiny, distracting embellishments.

Oh, silly you. Don't you know that "9/11 changed everything?"

Among other things, it made blatant lies a-okay.

I agree. First we'll have a trickle of Rudy Wrongdoings (don't want to go full-throttle too soon less the public become immune to bad news about Rudy). But if Giuliani becomes the Republican candidate, we'll hear a lot more, and there's plenty of mud to keep the public occupied.

It's not so much that Giuliani has multiple marriages or affairs. People will forgive that. Won't they won't forgive is a man who seems to be a total sleaze who doesn't care about his own family--just see his bad relationship with his kids and the fact he announced he was leaving his last wife via press conference before he told her. Rudy Giuliani makes Bill Clinton look like Ward Cleaver.