Authenticity: compare and contrast

Whoops, nice typos by me! it shoudl asay "This just proves you can fool some of the people all of the time. If you really believe the Christmas ad was not calculated to do..."

I am a hoorible typist.

the GOP isn't hesitant about Hucakbee because he's a Christian, they are hesitatant because he's WRONG on the issues, he's a progressive big-government liberal. Now would someone here please tell me why they support Huckabee without mentioning that he's a Christian???

I've said before, Huck is my first choice among presidential candidates for someone to have a beer with and talk about life. Authentic, warm, engaging - all good personal traits.

Baptists don't drink.

I heard on the way in to work today that the rise of Huckabee has some of the fiscal conservatives well on the way to a panic. It seems that these folks, while comfortable with "activating" the religious right every four years to vote for a GOP candidate, are uncomfortable with Huckabee precisely because of his socially conservative positions. .... Are evangelical Christians welcome to vote for the GOP candidates but not run for office themselves? If Huckabee gets the nomination will fiscal conservative wing desert him? If they do desert him will it spell and end to the three-part alliance forged by Reagan?

This is the campaign narrative being pushed by both the Left and by Huckabee's people, for different reasons. But it's way, way too simplistic -- the likes of Peggy Noonan, Bob Novak, and Kathryn Lopez can hardly be labelled "fiscal conservatives" who merely use the votes of evangelicals but don't want social conservatism at the forefront of the campaign.

I'll take the liberty of reposting here a handful of reasons why I think conservative politicos are reacting to Huckabee like he's radioactive -- Huck's social conservatism isn't on the list:

1. Huckabee's general philosophical orientation appears to be "compassionate conservative," and most conservatives have now had quite enough of that for one lifetime, thank you.

2. Huckabee does talk far too much about his personal "walk with the Lord," which frankly grates on a lot people (especially outside the South), including many (like me) who are strong social conservatives but want those positions articulated in sound, secular, constitutional terms.

3. Huckabee doesn't seem very prepared for the Presidency.

4. Experienced observers of American politics believe that in a general election Huckabee would have a great chance to sweep the former Confederate States -- and be trounced by the Democrat virtually everywhere else.

5. Huck sounds too much like Jimmy Carter, not enough like Ronald Reagan. Yuk.

6. A remarkable number of people who know or have met Huckabee insist that, privately, he is something of a thin-skinned jerk -- not at all the lovable Huckster he appears to be on the campaign trail. Another trait Huck seems to share with former President Carter.

7. Since Huckabee is a dark horse candidate, most politicos have long since committed their time and money to "more serious" contenders. By upsetting the apple cart, Huckabee jeopardizes their personal ambitions. Hence the venom.

Wait till you see this crowd's reaction when Ron Paul breaks into double digits in New Hampshire!

(And by the way, what sort of "fiscal conservative" would support Michael Bloomberg?)

ds0490: Sorry, George Bush is an evangelical Christian, next question.

So called fiscal conservatives (which incidentally include a huge # of evangelical Christian's such as myself) don't like Huckabee because his policies are contrary to what the conservative movement has been built upon the last 50+ years.

Do you seriously think a Democratic controlled Congress would cooperate AT ALL on judicial nominees with Huckabee (asuming he somehow got into the White House? There may be 4 Supreme Court spots up for grabs the next few years. Who would you trust more on that Romney, McCain, Thompson or Hillary/Obama/Edwards? Because believe me, Huck will get slaughtered in the general election if he makes it that far.

The primary way in which socons are going to see their issues addressed are through changes in the courts. Did Bush not deliver with Alito and Roberts? Do you think you could get anywhere on abortion or marriage amendments in the Democratic party? A 3rd party? Good luck to you if you do.

You tell me -- which one Romney or Huckabee has more of a record of taking on an activist anti-fmaily values court?

If Noonan and Novak don't like Huck. That makes me like him more! Are people's memories so short that they forget Novak's role in the Scooter Libby scandal.

The pro-international corporate globalization crowd is on both sides now. Just look at what ideas are being pushed by all the Dems at MIT's Sloan School of Business. Just heard Robert Reiche (sp?) on NPR trying to push how great it would be to lower the cost of food by putting family farmers out of business and taking in MORE food from all over the world (regardless of their pesticide policies, human rights issues, etc.) 'What . . . a national security issue? Preposterous!'

I'd like to see a candidate win who wasn't so beholden to the big money fat cats that seems to be taking out the middle class. Not sure Huck's ready for first place on the ticket just yet though.

McCain/Huckabee!!

I liked Huck's ad and while I'm not a Huck supporter, I personally don't mind the cross in there. Realize, though, that when you put a cross in an ad you may be playing to one base, and leaving others out. Dividing people instead of uniting, is not what this country needs.

What bothers me the most, though, are the claims from his camp that the "cross" was accidental. PULEASE. I have a really hard time believing that. Why be sneaky about it? So you can deny it and get lots of sympathetic publicity from your base? Just admit that you did it. Who are you going to lose points from?

Huck authentic? I don't think so. Slick is more like it.

I don't see why people wouldn't give him the benefit of the doubt on the "cross" being in there. We all know if you stare at a particular bookcase every day for years (assuming that's his home or office) that no one will notice it, because you only think of it as a bookcase. I'm a writer and the same thing happens when I edit my stuff. Obvious typos slip by me because, hey, I've poured over this and I know what I was saying.

The fact that he clearly says "Jesus Christ" and it is clearly religious in every sense, because hey, that's who he is. He is a minister, after all, and I find it refreshing that he is willing to just be himself. But I don't think they would deny they intended that to be there if they did. If he is so overtly stating everything else, why hide that?

There is no reason. So, I tend to buy that they just didn't see the cross when they made the thing. I didn't see the cross the first time through either. It looked like a window frame is what I thought when someone actually pointed out it looked like a cross.

Hey, people also found the Virgin Mary in a tortilla. I saw Jesus' face in an evangelical ministers cabinet once too. When I pointed it out, he said, "Wow, I've never saw that before." Familiarity would naturally not give them a second thought. I don't find that so implausible. I'm not saying that didn't intentionally put it there, but the simpler suggestion is that they didn't. And it seems people who are unwilling to give him that have an ax to grind.

Whether or not Mitt actually "saw" with his eyes or not, his father was a staunch Civil Rights supporter.

http://occidentalvalues.blogspot.com/2007/12/george-romney-and-martin-luther-king.html

SYNOPSIS:…at least four historical Books about MLK and 1960s politics state that King and Romney did March together...George Romney was a guest at King's funeral along with RFK...as Governor and HUD Secretary Romney was a noted non-black Civil Rights leader of his day...George Romney was recognized along with King and RFK as one of four leaders popular among disadvantaged black youths in a 1967 survey...link below to photograph of MLK and Lenore Romney (Mitt's mother)...link below to photo of Romney being heckled by racist protesters in 1960s for HUD efforts... and most important, George Romney himself, led a march of 10,000 people through Detroit to protest after Bloody Sunday occurred in Selma, Alabama...see below