November 01, 2008 News Corp

Heather:
I thought this interview was worth sharing because Richard Dreyfuss makes some really good points about the need for civics to be taught in this country, and although I don't agree with Mike Huckabee about much of anything, this type of interview where there's some respectful discussion rather than shouting someone down who you don't agree with and allowing them to talk is a rarity on Fox.

November 01, 2008 News Corp Mike Huckabee

It shouldn't surprise anyone when Meet The Press assembles a panel of four spin doctors* that they will furiously try to out spin one another, though in at least one instance there was a qualitative difference. Three were selling old models, John McCain and the DLC , while Bob Shrum was more or less left on his own to paint rosy pictures of that New Kid on the Block, Barack Obama.

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Former republican presidential aspirant Mike Huckabee and political consultant Mike Murphy (hired gun in the past for both John McCain and Mitt Romney, among others) were bemoaning the fact the republican brand was damaged, while trying to sell the idea that John Sydney McCain was just the tonic for a beleaguered party. Huckabee's spin was the usual tired and worn "Maverick" nonsense, McCain as the non-traditional traditional republican. Or something like that. Murphy's hyperbole would extend further, calling McCain a "Change Agent," a centrist who would bridge the partisan gridlock in Washington. (Murphy said all that with a straight face, too.)

Harold DLC Ford, Jr came in, chomping at the bit, when the conversation moved to the three recent congressional losses by republicans in heavily red districts, seats in Illinois, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In each of the races Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were used by the RNC in tv advertising as the scary 'libruls' to dissuade the republican districts from voting for the democrat. This strategy was a dismal failure. But to Harold the real lesson to be gleaned from all this was that moderate democrats were on the ascendant, and that presumably the democratic party should not stray too far to the left lest it implode. The party brand might be a problem but as long as the candidate running was not 'threatening' everything would be fine.

Each selling an idea without any real facts to back up their assertions. One could ask, for instance, how Sen. Barack Obama became the most liberal in the U.S. Senate with a collective rating (80%) from liberal interest groups similar to that of Joe Lieberman (78%), while John McCain's rating (9%) by the same groups is down near the bottom of the barrel of true lunkheads like Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), all at 8%.

Beware of salesmen selling you a bad bill of goods is an old and in this case, apt piece of advice.

*Informal a person who provides a favourable slant to a news item or policy on behalf of a political personality or party [from the spin given to a ball in sport to make it go in the desired direction]--Collins Essential English Dictionary

Tim Russert asked Huckabee about the very dangerous joke he he told about Barack Obama at the NRA dinner in Kentucky. The one where Obama gets assassinated.

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he’s getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

He responds by bringing up Bobby Knight---saying he'll say stupid things again and he thought John McCain's "bomb, bomb Iran song parody was a hoot.

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Huckabee: There was a Bobby Knight incident going on back stage with a chair that fell and made a terrible noise, distracted the crowd.

I apologized for it immediately. I would never ever try to inject something like that to create an endangered moment for any candidate. I don't care who it is. And ah...you know, it wasn't the first dumb thing I've ever said and let me go and announce it on this program, it won't be the last dumb thing I've ever said. We all in politics do, Ronald Reagan had an open mic and said "I'm gonna launch a nuclear attack against Russia." I remember John McCain sing "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." I thought that was funny, but I mean a lot of people didn't.

Didn't Bobby Knight get fired from Indiana for his horrible behavior? I think that's a bad starting off point, Hucky, comparing yourself to Bobby Knight, who choked a student too. Maybe you should be fired off NBC and start over on Glenn Beck's show---you know, something well-regarded. Then he says that McCain singing "bomb, bomb Iran" was funny. Sure, McBush singing that he wants to bomb a country that has already been targeted with sour rhetoric like Bush and Cheney do despite little to no evidence of what they're being accused is something we should all laugh at. I'm sure the leaders of Iran thought it was well done too.

Actually, they're not. Seeing that this is what passes for "conservative humor" nowadays, is anyone surprised that "The Half Hour News Hour" was an abject failure? You don't have to answer that.

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CNN:

During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain — joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

How is this even remotely funny? I know the Huckster is quick on his feet, but how did he think of this "joke" so quickly? That's some serious improv skills right there.

UPDATE: Huckabee does the right thing and apologizes:

"During my speech at the N.R.A., a loud noise backstage, that sounded like a chair falling, distracted the crowd and interrupted my speech. I made an off hand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama. I apologize that my comments were offensive. That was never my intention.”

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The Daily Show takes a look at Chuck Norris and his support of Huckabee, the anti-evolution candidate---Chuck, the incredible action hero endorsement if there ever was one...Do you have a partial gym in your house?

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On Thursday's Countdown, Keith Olbermann awards the bronze award to Rep. Michelle Bachman for her Let them eat cake moment of boasting about so many Minnesotans working longer hours and at more than one job. The silver goes to Glenn Beck for taking his WATB rants about a botched hemorrhoid surgery and extending it to a slam against Universal Health Care and then to FDR for being the president that ushered in more social programs than the Republicans have been able to destroy (though Universal Health Care was not one of them, but hey, it's Beck, we don't need no stinkin' facts). And finally, the gold goes to Mike Huckabee, for continuing his "The Constitution should be amended to fit the word of God" to do the typically inane biblically-based bash against same-sex marriage.

On H&C last night after the MI primary, Colmes asked Huckabee to comment on his theocratic rant to change the Constitution to line up with the word of God in his eyes.

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Colmes: When you make statements like that, changing the Constitution in keeping with your God.

Huckabee: On two things. The context is two things. Human life amendment, which I support and which has been in the Republican platform since 1980. And by the way, Fred Thompson doesn't support it, nor does John McCain. And yet it's part of our platform and it's a very important part of our platform to say that human life is something we're going to stand for. And the second thing is traditional marriage. So those are the two areas in which I'm talking about. I'm not suggesting that we re-write the constitution to reflect tithing or Sunday school attendance. I want to make that very clear.

Nice try there Mike. Two things is two things too many. What would be next? A "Wives to obey their husbands" amendment?" Richard Land would certainly be thrilled. Huckabee laughs it off as really just part of what Republicans think anyway so what's the big deal? I have to agree with him on that one completely. Huckabee is stating the words that are at the heart of Newt's Southern Strategy in the 90's and Reagan in the 80's.

Digby reminds us of this one:

The president of the United States interrupted his vacation (something he wouldn't do even when faced with a terrorist threat) to sign legislation to keep one brain damaged woman alive against her will in a naked pander to the religious right. This stuff is SOP to Republicans. They agree with it.

PFAW's Peter Montgomery says:

Does Huckabee mean what he said? Does he want an amendment to make divorce unconstitutional? What other ways would he amend the Constitution to meet his interpretation of “God’s standards?” Mike Huckabee’s desperate push to energize his supporters is revealing his deeply flawed view of our Constitution, and reminding Americans why the separation of church and state is so important.

Mike Huckabee went on Hannity & Colmes to try and beat down the alleged controversy he caused by showing a group of reporters an attack ad on Romney that he had made but then decided not to run because he's so pure---though he played it for them anyway---so he could say he didn't---

"If a man's this dishonest to obtain a job---then he'll be dishonest on the job," Mike Huckabee from the ad that never ran.

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Huckabee: Well, we didn't run the ad, Sean. What we did--we pulled it. I knew that if we said we had made one and didn't reveal that it existed there would have been the cynicism of the reporters that had said "Oh, you really didn't have one", but we did. And I don't know how you obtained that copy because we didn't give it to anybody. We had a box of CD's of em, we gave then to no one. We showed it in that room, for those reporters and the only way they could have gotten it would be to tape it---I guess off a camera from the screen...

Colmes: Is Mitt Romney too dishonest to be President of the United States?

Huckabee: You know, I think Mitt Romney has every reason to run for President, the voters are going to decide in Iowa and the rest of America. Who's consistent on issues like....

Colmes: I want to know if you stand by the words of that ad? Do you stand by the words in the ad?

Huckabee: I never retracted the words, but I pulled the ad because I felt like that it is the tone and the spirit of the ad that we need....(Colmes: You do stand by what that ad says?) I made it very clear that when you say things about an opponent's record that aren't true or say things about your own record which aren't true, I don't know how else you call that...dishonest...

Back to you, Mitt. Huckabee just called you a liar and unfit for office to your face. The copy on H&C just fell from the sky....He actually has the nerve to say that if he didn't show the attack ad then he would have been attacked for hiding it. I mean, how many Hail Mary's and Our Father's should he be required to say as penance for this nonsense?

And it's a nasty ad for sure. Listen, you only get criticized for your actions---not something you produced but then didn't run. If his conscience was bothering him so much then all he had to do was shelve it in silence. If any reporter got wind of it, just admit it existed and be done with it. The Preacher is probably trying to get as much publicity on the ad as possible because then he doesn't have to shell out the Romney bucks to air it.

UPDATED:  And Benen catches this very important point:

About mid-way through the ad, during a litany of accusations against Mitt Romney, Huckabee criticizes his rival with this data point: "No executions." Apparently, Huckabee -- you know, the evangelical, pro-life Republican -- is going after Romney for not having executed any Americans during his gubernatorial tenure.

OK, so is it a surprise to anyone that Jay Leno's first guest will be Mike Huckabee after breaking with the WGA strikers!

On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee will trade jokes with Jay Leno on NBC's "Tonight Show."

While his rivals will be making a final appeal to the state's voters, Huckabee will be flying to Los Angeles to tape the show with Leno, who returns to the air Wednesday without striking writers.

A similar late-night appearance backfired on rival Fred Thompson, who irked voters in New Hampshire by skipping a Republican debate last fall at the University of New Hampshire to announce his candidacy on Leno's show.

The WGA is hoping their deal with Letterman will have a dramatic effect on Leno's ratings. United Hollywood weighs in on it. The idea of crossing the picket line will keep many celebrities off of Leno, but Jay has been a stand up for decades and his fans tune in to see him so I guess we'll see how that shakes out.

I'm not sure if Huckabee has the Secret Service guarding him yet, (I did a quick google search and came up empty) but it'll be interesting to see how his security responds to the striking writers when Huckabee shows up to Leno...Can you see any arrests coming as we've seen in the past with BushCo. for simply wearing a "Huckabee sucks t-shirt?" Have your video cameras with you if you're on the line.

The more we get to hear Huckabee---the more we understand that this candidate running on extreme religious fundamentals is unqualified to lead a culture that is made up of many, many different belief systems, or none at all. Check out this clip from Meet The Press and watch his wingnuttia in action. It's a sight to behold. Please, pray for him. Think Progress and Page OneQ have more...(h/t Heather)

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MR. RUSSERT: But when you say aberrant or unnatural, do you believe you're born gay or you choose to be gay?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I don't know whether people are born that way. People who are gay say that they're born that way. But one thing I know, that the behavior one practices is a choice. We may have certain tendencies, but how we behave and how we carry out our behavior--but the important issue that I want to address, because I think when you bring up the faith question, Tim, I've been asked more about my faith than any person running for president. I'm OK with that.

MR. RUSSERT: But you said you would ban all abortions.

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, that's not just because I'm a Christian, that's because I'm an American. Our founding fathers said that we're all created equal. I think every person has intrinsic worth and value...

MR. RUSSERT: But many Americans believe that that would be, that would be you imposing your faith belief...

 

UPDATE: Jane reports that Huckabee held a press conference today saying:

Huckabee just held a press conference where he announced that he made a negative ad against Romney -- Lord forgive him -- but at the last minute he decided to turn the other cheek and not broadcast it. But just to show he wasn't shittin' y'all, he decided to show it to a few of his closest friends at a press conference that included Tim Russert, Joe Klein, Barbara Comstock and a few hundred journalists and bloggers of varying degrees of noteriety.

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 OK, so Huck is flopping around on immigration because the hard core wingnut base of the GOP doesn't like his stance on giving kids that were born in the country some protections because they are US citizens. And he said that if all illegal immigrants were deported. the American economy would collapse.

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Huckabee:  In all due respect, we're a better country than to punish children for what their parents did.  We're a better country than that.

What a nice position to have. Fooled ya! After that debate he came out with a new plan that calls for sending all illegal immigrants home---including their children that in his words---would "collapse" our economy. But if the children are American citizens, how can he do that?  Wouldn't that be terribly destructive to them?  Ahhh, compassionate conservatism. Is this how a Christian warrior treats "children?"  Timmeh calls him on it pretty good....

RUSSERT:  "Don't punish those kids." A week later, you said, "No, no, no, send the parents home," and what happens to the kids?

HUCKABEE:  They go with their parents.  I mean, I can't imagine a parent not taking their children...

RUSSERT:  But they're American citizens.  Why do they have to leave the country?

HUCKABEE:  Because they're--first, before they're American citizens, they're the children of their parents.

RUSSERT:  But aren't we a "better country," to quote someone, than that?

HUCKABEE:  No, I did not send them home.  They will go home within 120-day window, and then they have the process of starting to return.

RUSSERT:  But that's 15 million people.  You're saying to do that would collapse the American economy, and now that's exactly what you're proposing.

HUCKABEE:  No, I don't think it would collapse the American economy if people went back and did their process of becoming legal.  And all of them aren't going to go back on the same day.  There's going to be a window of time.  How long it's going to take for them to come back, I don't know

 Huckabee still says we're a better country than that! He then says he's not sending them home, but he is...Right? Oh, they get a chance to come back some day. But he doesn't have any kind of time frame, just ship 12-15 million people out of the country at an astronomical cost that would probably take years to accomplish and as he said earlier---collapse our economy. He does manage to get a "God" reference into the discussion too....I'm just baffled...(transcript below the fold)

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Huckabee goes a-huntin'

Republican Mike Huckabee took his turn Wednesday, going on a pheasant hunt in Osceola, Iowa during which the Arkansas governor made it clear he is no stranger to the great outdoors.

Huckabee's team brought back three pheasants — one of which the candidate claimed he personally shot — and promised they'd be "cleaned and eaten."

Huckabee, who polls show continues to hold onto his lead in Iowa eight days before the state's caucuses — also joked the trip could serve as a metaphorical campaign message. "Don't get in my way," he said while pointing to the three dead birds.

"This is what happens…You vote for me, you live. You don't…there you go."

The CNN anchor says he has a "morbid" sense of humor....These hunting outings are pretty ridiculous and Huck certainly doesn't disappoint. I know he thinks he's very funny, but it's really a bit much...Can someone explain to me why hunting is some sort of prerequisite for the office of the president and vice president? Did Mike shoot anybody in the face? Sorry, I couldn't help myself... (h/t rasta)

 Remember this one from Romney during an early GOP debate?

Romney - Some people have said we out to close Guantanamo...my view is that we outta double Guantanamo...

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Mike Huckabee, that Christian leader who doesn't see crosses, only bookshelves told CBS News that (h/t Charles):

Asked about Guantanamo, Mike Huckabee said he had visited the facility and said it was “disappointing” that military personnel were eating meals that averaged $1.60 while the detainees were eating Halal meals that cost over $4 each.

“The inmates there were getting a whole lot better treatment than my prisoners in Arkansas. In fact, we left saying, ‘I hope our guys don’t see this. They’ll all want to be transferred to Guanatanmo. If anything, it’s too nice.”

The man of God thinks Gitmo is way too nice. And it's only going to get worse from here:

According to Bob Wickers, Huckabee media consultant and mastermind of the "Chuck Norris Facts" commercial, the new ad will be intregal to the campaign and "consistant with who he is and how faith informs who he is". Expect an anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage message.

Updated: Think Progress has more:

In June, Huckabee said on CNN’s Late Edition that “most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo.” At the time, he said we couldn’t close the facility because hypothetically, “if we let somebody out” they could “come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers.

Donny Deutsch was on Hardball this afternoon to give his views on the presidential candidates Christmas ads and he summer Huckabee's ad up simply as:

"I'm Donny Deutsch and I'm getting frightened over here."

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That's pretty strong criticism coming from one of the top advertising minds in the country. Deutsch also goes on to say that there are no mistakes in advertising and that floating cross falls within that golden rule.

I'm sure a lot of Huckabee supporters out there will give Deutsch a big "bahhuckbug!" over his assessment.