Letters to the Editor
-
What an interesting election
I say that as an old person who will be dead before global warming makes the planet uninhabitable (unless it's way faster than anyone imagines at this time).
A few months ago the religious right threatened to run a third party candidate because they didn't like any of the Republicans. I wondered then, why they didn't take up Huckabee: he's everything they say they want when it comes to religion (though as a person who may actually be religious he tends to go soft on stuff like health care for babies, even if their parents are illegal).
Clearly the man isn't competent to be president -- he recently worried about Pakistan controlling it's eastern border with Afghanistan, not to mention many other bizarre statements on foreign policy -- but when has lack of intelligence or information barred a candidate from winning?
If nothing else, Huck is showing just how deep ignorance of the world is in particular parts of the country.
As I started out saying, I'm glad to be old these days.
-
Gomer & Willard, dukin' it out for Iowa...
What a freakshow.
I noticed the AP wire story on Willard Romney's "candor gap" on the front page. When a candidate has a wire service story running on his candor problems, he's in trouble. Nice knowin' ya, Willard. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
And while I used to think that Giuliani was an oppo researcher's dream candidate, I think Huckabee may well have him beat. From letting murderous rapists and amphetamine traffickers out of prison, to crushing the hard drives that held his records as governor, to demonstrating a level of ignorance on foreign policy that even Bush would find staggering (no easy task, that!), the R's really would be putting Gomer out front this cycle.
Or is it Goober? I get them confused.
Even Dennis Kucinich would have little trouble beating Huckabee. And that's a guy I doubt could win a statewide election in his own Ohio.
-
They're all suits with haircuts
I have to disagree with the letters stating that we should hope that Huckabee wins because he’s the “one candidate the Dems can surely beat”. He may be the easiest one to beat but they all have their own Achilles heels and far as Republican support goes. The fact is that all the candidates the republicans are fielding this season are nothing more than suits with haircuts. If you combined all the character and substance from Romney, Huckabee, Thompson and Guiliani there wouldn’t be enough between them all to make one good candidate. Thinking Americans can see that—unfortunately that excludes the 40% that believe the earth is 6000 years old.
Of course putting your faith in the intelligence and good judgment of the populace is still a dicey proposition these days. Especially since our current president was able to steal at least one—if not more—elections from the Democrats. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we can beat any of them. We just need to figure out a strategy to counter the election fraud, dirty tricks, lies, vicious propaganda and character assassinations that are the hallmark of all successful Republican campaigns.
-
He "fears" God
This is churchspeak. "Fear" in this context means "respect and honor." It doesn't mean "be scared of" and it's not incompatible with love.
-
Religious, Yes, But Does Anyone Want ot BE Mike Huckabee?
While the Christian Right may eventually push Huckabee into the Republican nomination, can we be sort of crass for a second and consider something about Huckabee's electability in the larger election: his physical presence and charisma (or lack thereof). Let's be blunt: there are a lot of uninformed voters who don't intricately study the issues or even vote their religious convictions but just vote on simply who looks the best and sounds the best. Remember how we heard a lot about voters who voted for Dubya because he looked like the kind of guy you could have a beer with?
As much as I dislike George Bush, I can see that he has a certain arrogant, aggressive bantam-like "good old boy" charisma and appeal to some people. But-- unlike George Bush-- Huckabee most certainly does NOT look "someone you want to have a beer with." In fact, he kind of looks like the preacher you have to pretend you like and be polite to while your wife serves coffee cake in the den. In most denominations, you don't get to elect your preacher, and-- if you did-- the clergy would probably be a whole lot more attractive. And even with any potential preacher appeal, I have to tell ya, a lot of folks are gonna see something pretty Nixonian about Huckabee's appearance (if anything, he looks more like the guy who played the corrupt weasely president on "24" a season or two ago).
Other than Ford (who wasn't elected in the first place), I think you have to go back to Tricky Dick to find a president with the level of physical charisma that Huckabee projects (even Jimmy Carter had that "aww shucks" Southern thing going on when he ran, and Bush the First came in with some of his son's "tough" persona and riding the wings of the Reagan years). And Nixon had to run more than once to get past the charisma thing, which helped sink him against Kennedy.
There's a certain fantasy element to the modern presidency: people want to dream of being president. It's a key reason why larger than life folks like Reagan, Clinton, and Dubya tend to win the office. Obama's got a certain cool charisma, and Edwards can work the old tried and true Southern thing. Giuliani, despite his flaws, has an obvious dynamism; and Romney has the looks, but he's kind of like John Kerry in that he's blowing it by looking like a major league waffler. I'm not sure how the Hillary thing works out if she wins the nomination, but I'm guessing there's a lot of women who dream about being president, maybe enough to help tip her into office. (Notice how often the Rovian GOP forces try to hit Hillary by finding photos of her that distort or exaggerate her appearance. Why? Becuase they know how presidential elections work).
Look at Huckabee for a second and ask yourself: is this the face of someone who people will dream about being (like, when I grow up I want to be... Mike Huckabee)? 'Cause, frankly, it sure seems like that's been a pretty big dealbreaker in who's gotten elected in at least the last thirty or so years.