The "tacky" defense
With all the attention that's focused on Mike Huckabee in light of his new status as a top-tier candidate, it's natural that we are learning facts that cast him in a less than favorable light. Even so, Huckabee seems determined to accelerate the process through pronouncements of dubious veracity and/or appropriateness.
The latest example is the statement he made to the New York Times about Mitt Romney and religion. Here is the account:
Huckabee is, indeed, a discreet fellow, but he has no trouble making his feelings known. He mentioned how much he respected his fellow candidates John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani. The name of his principal rival in Iowa, Mitt Romney, went unmentioned. Romney, a Mormon, had promised that he would be addressing the subject of his religion a few days later. I asked Huckabee, who describes himself as the only Republican candidate with a degree in theology, if he considered Mormonism a cult or a religion. ‘‘I think it’s a religion,’’ he said. ‘‘I really don’t know much about it.’’I was about to jot down this piece of boilerplate when Huckabee surprised me with a question of his own: ‘‘Don’t Mormons,’’ he asked in an innocent voice, ‘‘believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?’’
The Huckabee camp claims that the Times took Huckabee's statement about Jesus and the devil out of context. But the Times provides the context and, unless its report is false, that context doesn't help Huckabee.
In fairness, though, this account does not suggest to me that Huckabee hates Mormons or is intolerant of other religions. Rather it suggests that Huckabee could not resist the temptation to take a cheap shot. The underlying offense may be lack of class.
Unfortunately, it isn't an isolated example. Aside from Huckabee's inability to provide an account of the Dumond affair that's consistent with the evidence, there are reports that Huckabee received hundreds of gifts as governor the value of which exceeded $100,000 in one year. One of the donors apparently was appointed to a state commission. Huckabee and his wife also registered for gifts as they were planning to leave the governor's mansion and move into a home they had recently purchased. In a related matter, Huckabee removed the drapes from the governor's mansion when he left.
There was no violation here; the drapes had been one of the many gifts. As a friend from Arkansas told me, Huckabee wasn't a corrupt governor; just a tacky one. The best face I can put on his interview with the Times would be that Huckabee isn't a religious bigot, he's just too quick to stick the knife in.
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