Here's National Review's Rich Lowry on the Huck effect:
I only could stay for Huckabee's 15-minute opening remarks at a packed—I mean packed—event at a gym in a Londonberry middle school this morning, but it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. It was one of the most stirring and persuasive defenses of self-government and limited government—including the doctrine of subsidiarity—that I have heard in a long time. This guy is very good, and very shrewd—after playing the evangelical card in Iowa, today he was saying how America is all about "live free or die."
I hope somebody filmed those and puts them on YouTube. I'd like to see them. Reading Rich's observations, I'm reminded that Huckabee nearly won the Iowa straw poll last summer based solely on his oratory. The man is a fantastic retail politician. Again and again I say unto you: he won the endorsement of the socially liberal Dallas Morning News editorial board, based in part on most of the board meeting with him personally, and coming away deeply impressed. This caricature of him as a panderer to Bible-thumpers is way, way wrong, and it's why so many in the media and the conservative establishment have underestimated him.
BTW, interesting observation about the GOP debate from Matthew Yglesias, who writes from the left:
Mike Huckabee is clearly the best politician out of this crew -- everyone but him and Ron Paul looked tired, and Huckabee is really the only one who's in touch with the mood of the country. His policy solutions are empty or crackpotty, but since his rivals don't deign to engage with him that doesn't come across during the debates. Meanwhile, his empty or crackpotty solutions are aimed at real problems real people have. The others often seem to be living on another planet.
I want to make one more remark about John McCain. When we debated on the DMN editorial board endorsing him, his advanced age and notoriously bad temper were major factors in dissuading a majority of the board from his cause. I think both things were on display tonight in his debate performance -- he seemed tired the whole time, and on a few occasions in going after Romney, came off as a crotchety old man.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Just one last positive note on Huck.
I was trying to fish out the sincerity question with one of his staffers. He's only got 4 in NH. This young guy knows Mike. He's seen him close up. I went roundabout and sideways trying to check this out. He assures me that Huck is sincere. Not a phony. To the depths a Christian. Not in the least one of the guy's to worry about. NH people know exactly what I'm talking about. That was good to hear.
To follow up on Sheilagh's comment... my mom and sister heard Huck speak at the NR conservative summit about a year ago in DC. They had no idea who he was, but were so inspired by his speech. Later, they met him in the lobby of the hotel and chatted for a while. They called me two days later just raving about the guy! They said he was the most sincere, lovely man. I just spoke to my mom a moment ago, and she assured me, again, that Huck is, without a doubt, "good people." Doesn't mean he's presidential material, but it DOES mean he's sincere. My mom's never wrong about these things!
For what that's worth :)
Since everyone is commenting on Clinton's presentation, my two cents about Huckabee's: I've seen a lot of preacher-men in my day, and he definitely comes out of that tradition. He has that stern yet friendly mien, the level gaze followed by a little twinkle to win you over and sugar the medicine so it goes down, and then when he ends the sentence, he tucks his lips together in a fleeting moue of satisfaction, as if he's chomping down on his own words and finding them oh so tasty. As he does this, his eyes flick over the audience to see how they're responding. He probably does believe what he's saying. As my old friend who had been a con artist used to say, "to con someone else you first have to con yourself." However, the "sincerity" of his expressions and manner is something they learn in preacher school, just as John Edwards learned his somewhat different form of sincerity in trial lawyer school. Go watch Robert Duvall in "The Apostle" if you want to see another professional version of the same thing. It's a potted plant form of sincerity, not the wild kind that probably died out with Andy Jackson.
That's good to know MargaretE. Thanks.
And as to 'preacher-man'traditions I admit I have NO experience there, I'll have to take your word.
Being Catholic I've had to sift through some of the least expressive, incorrectly-toned homilies out there to find the message beneath the words. I think the Catholic idea of 'animated' is actually to read a prepared joke at the beginning of a homily. NB: Not all priest but a good majority.:)
Did you read Kristol's column on Huckabee in the NY Times Monday?
I saw the headline, expected it to be a neocon hit piece,
but it was actually respectful and somewhat positive.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.