I don't like Mike Huckabee, it's nothing personal, I just prefer someone more adroit on policy, less lenient on crime, less socially conservative and more fiscally responsible and now a tad less bible thumpy. Don't get me wrong, I'll still vote for him or any other Republican over any other Democrat, but he is not my type of guy.
Then there's this Christmas ad, which I find very disturbing. It's not the sentiment, I'm fine with that, it's the intent and the context. Huckabee isn't just wishing you, me and everybody else a merry Christmas, he's reminding you, me and everybody else that he's the real Christian running for president. Enough already. Religion has it's place in our broad Republic, but it should never be the central issue for a presidential candidate. If this is who Huckabee is, God bless and keep him, he should stay in Arkansas get himself a church and preach away.
People complain that Huckabee's religiosity has gotten more attention than Barack Obama's. While true, I think that's because people pay Huckabee the respect of taking him seriously.
1 comment:
The Corner, National Review
Friday, December 07, 2007
Running on faith, 1906 version [Mark Steyn]
I rather like this approach, from Jeremy Lott's advice to Mitt:
In 1906, Britain's Liberal party nominated man of letters Hillaire Belloc to stand for election as an MP in Salford. It was a throwaway nomination - Belloc was a French immigrant to the UK, only recently naturalized, and he was a Catholic running in an area that was heavily Methodist and that had never gone Liberal. Rather than trying to work around his religion, as his campaign manager had advised, Belloc took the occasion of "papist" taunts to make a memorable point.
According to literary journalist William Bryk, Belloc announced to a "packed hall" of constituents: "Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day." He reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and told them, "This is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell these beads, every day. If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God that He has spared me the indignity of being your representative!" An "absolute silence" was soon ended when the crowd "exploded with applause." Belloc won, first as a Liberal MP then as an independent candidate.
CultMan -- don't know how it clarifies, but it seems that proclaiming your religious sympathies might not be a negative political impulse.
CultMan
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