Lessons Learned, Haley Wins, a Huckabee “boomlet” and more…
The events of the last several days reveal two important lessons about American and our electoral politics. One is the victory of Nikki Haley in South Carolina and the other is the continued anger of our current President. The lessons are summed up, in a sense by Roger Simon blogging on incivility in politics.
As we are acutely aware here, Nikki Haley had to survive an ugly, and typically South Carolinian, “whisper campaign” concerning her religion, but as Ed Morrisey points out, such campaigns are not working anymore. Lesson One – people are tired of this garbage, they want their campaigns straight up and straightforward. They want to hear about things that matter, not things that don’t. Character does matter, and religion and fidelity contribute to character, but people want evidence, not innuendo – data, not rumors.
We are also seeing an increasingly angry Barack Obama. From the BP escrow extraction to accepting Stanley McCrystal’s resignation, this president is unhappy and upset and irritated and angry. But he has not got a thing to offer to make the situation any better – and the American people know it. He was elected because the press was more in the tank with him than any candidate in history, and because people thought he understood their dissatisfaction. Apparently he understands, even trumps, that dissatisfaction, but his promised hope and change seems to be about cementing that dissatisfaction in the White House, not doing anything to solve the problems. Lesson Two – People want a president that can do something, not just empathize with their plight.
Periodically, Americans forget these two very important lessons, but it does not take long for them to remember, and when they do, if there is someone in office that violates them, they get politically embarrassed. Barack Obama has a couple of years to step up his game or he is going to find himself in the angry former president’s home that Jimmy Carter currently occupies. Not a nice place to be.
All which sets the stage nicely for discussing future presidential possibilities…
Who “Won” with Haley?
Chris Cilizza is pretty adamant that it was Romney – here and here. Have to agree, and in this case it is more than just the typical “he endorsed, she won” thing. By overcoming the whisper campaigns handily, and especially the religious ones, a clear signal is sent that Romney’s competence will far outweigh his faith in the public’s mind next time. Bill O’Reilly has gone so far as to say Romney’s nomination is more or less a done deal.
One person that had no play in South Carolina at all (this time) was Mike Huckabee….
The Huckabee Press Push…
OK – A profile in The New Yorker is typically a big deal. But I see no traction developing out of it. The Atlantic was squawking about it, so that’s two left wing outlets touting a Republican contender. Could it be that they want Republicans to nominate the weaker candidate? Just asking. Laura Curtis at Hot Air was deeply unimpressed.
What has always repelled me most about Mike Huckabee is his dishonesty, especially given how the man who made Judicial Watch’s 2007 “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” list puts himself forward as the Christian candidate.
But my favorite is Mike Allen’s Monday Headline:
HEFTY HUCKABEE MOVES TO FLORIDA — Warns of ‘ick factor’ with gays — Steve Schmidt on how he could win
Laughingstock here we come. Mark Silk seems to think he has a shot with the Jewish vote. While I am deeply heartened to see more and more of my Jewish cousins joining the ranks of the Republican party, they have a way to go before they will be able to carry a nomination, which is what matters at the moment.
The Others…
Thune will run…. (subscription link) He is playing things very cool until after November, but he will run. However, given how things are going for Romney, Thune is likely to be rehearsing for another year or running for VP.
Jeb Bush has been under a lot of discussion his week, most because he took a well-deserved swipe at Obama. But Jeb in 2016 is a fantasy. For one thing it is better than even money we will have a Republican incumbent in 2016, and for another, that incumbent is increasingly likely to be Mitt Romney. Romney and Jeb Bush are deep political allies – I doubt seriously they would challenge each other.
General Religious Headlines…
Warning – we have not had time to go through this material in detail, but it looks like it would be of interest so we are passing it on.
- The New Face of American Evangelicalism
- Video: Cops arrest Christians for handing out gospel at Dearborn Arab festival?
- Prop 8: Mormon Persecution, Marriage and the Refuge of Patriotism
- Is a religious bus ban on my dog right?
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CarlH on 25 Jun 2010 at 9:50 am #
It seems to me that the most important thing to note about the Huckabee “boomlet,” is that it seems to be pretty much a liberal or at least left-center “push.” That could mean a lot of things, I suppose. But what a lot of Republicans–of whatever religious or secular stripe they may be–need to note is that Huckabee seems to have some sort of an “appeal” to this cadre that other Republican hopefuls do not because he has a record and is making statements that show he is not a fiscal conservative.
sewinglady on 26 Jun 2010 at 2:58 pm #
I took the time to read the piece on Prop 8, as we passed a similar amendment to our state’s constitution. The tone of the article was good, but somehow the author misses the point that not everyone agrees that marriage–which requires a license–is a civil right. My black neighbor, who doesn’t support gay marriage, told me that she simply does not see this issue as a civil rights issue.
It’s an easy approach to lash out at the CJCLDS, who are a prominent target, and who are not well liked in the Christian community. Imagine supporters of No on Prop 8 demonstrating en masse against blacks and Hispanics. I was also disappointed that the article made no mention of the vandalism of CJCLDS church property, and the persecution and destruction of private property, which was NOT DESERVED!