Sometimes It Hurts To Keep Up On This Stuff…
. . . man, it was just hard to read yesterday.
Huck Talks To Huff!
Yep! Jonathon Martin links to a HuffPo interview with Huckabee. Says Martin:
Close Huck-watchers will find gold in nearly every answer . . . .
Yeah, the guy is a like the proverbial bad penny. Here is my favorite:
Do you think Obama is an evangelical?
I don’t know that I would call him an evangelical, but I think he’s certainly a Christian, he openly declares his Christian faith, and I think some Republicans who try to dismiss that are making a big mistake, and they’ll be very naïve if they think they can just assume that all of the faith vote is going to automatically go Republican this year. It is not.
Now, firstly, the question itself is HIGHLY objectionable, which should have begun and ended Huck’s response. But it didn’t and I think Huck is taking a back handed shot at Romney with the “I don’t know that I would call him an evangelical, but I think he’s certainly a Christian,” remark. (Remember - this was done over the weekend that Romney was meeting with McCain about the veep slot and HUCK WAS NOT.) Particularly given how controversial the use of the word “Christian” has been when it relates to Mormons. Is it possible Huck would prefer Obama to Romney? Or is this yet another instance of Huck speaking before thinking?
The View From The British Left . . .
An op-ed from the VERY left Guardian.
Finally, consider Mitt Romney, who last December delivered a nationally televised address about his Mormonism. Romney’s speech was compared in some circles to John Kennedy’s 1960 appearance before a Protestant ministers group in Houston. But whereas Kennedy made essentially a secular appeal - assuring the ministers, and the country, that his Catholicism wouldn’t interfere with his ability to govern - Romney took the opposite route. (Note: I am not related to John Kennedy.)
The gospel according to Mitt was that Mormonism is an awful lot like evangelical Christianity, especially of the sort practiced by Republican caucus-goers and primary voters. The evangelicals were having none of it, and Romney - having indulged in outright bigotry against non-believers, as David Brooks of the New York Times observed - could not credibly demand that others not engage in anti-Mormon bigotry. Romney faded away, though he’s now back in full pander mode, trying to push McCain into making him his running mate.
There is the story I have been waiting for from the left. “All religious people are bigoted fools.” We set ourselves up for this one.
And from the British Center . . .
(Lowell adding some thoughts here.)
The Times of London has an oddly quirky view of the same subject:
Mr Crist, for example, would be a useful ally in winning his home state of Florida, but would he be deemed sufficiently presidential by the media? Mr Jindal’s Indian heritage would be a plus but he is 36 years old, only 12 months over the constitutionally required minimum, and half the age of the presidential contender. Mr Romney is probably qualified to serve as the commander-in-chief but millionaire Mormons are not exactly what diversity demands in 2008 and it was evident from the primary contest that Mr McCain could barely stand the sight of him. If a suitable woman senator were available, she would be snapped up in an instant. But those who are available tend to be liberal on abortion, and that would trigger civil war among the Republicans.
(Emphasis added.) Now there’s a twist: Most MSM commentators thought Romney’s Mormonism was too different or weird for him to be president. Now The Times thinks he’s not different enough.
Poor Mitt just cannot win.
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2 Responses to “Sometimes It Hurts To Keep Up On This Stuff…”
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Lori on 28 May 2008 at 12:31 pm #
John–good catch on the Huck interview. The better answer to that question would be to say it should not matter. But Huckabee has such a high opinion of himself and he thinks he is the authority on all things Christian. He jumped at the chance to show his Christian cred. But saying he openly declares his Christian faith was like saying, Obama says he is Christian and I take him at his word. So the test is, if one openly declares it, than he is Christian. If that is the test of who is a Christian and who is not then he needn’t have shrunk from answering that question about Romney the same way.
K.G. on 29 May 2008 at 11:18 am #
I am a Mormon with evangelical Christian friends. Unlike Huck, they are quick to say they don’t believe Obama is a Christian, pointing to Rev. Wright’s rants as evidence.
The strange practice of judging who and who is not a Christian in terms of whom you will vote for is just plain goofy, in my opinion. One candidate can declare Jesus Christ is his Savior and Redeemer and is taken at his word? And another is assumed to be a liar when he makes the same confession even though his life witnesses that he has received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Master?
Maybe this is why there is only one Judge authorized to ascertain such matters.