Huckabee Flubs A Pakistan Question

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Huckabee Flubs A Pakistan Question

27 Dec 2007 01:24 pm

CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes writes about Mike Huckabee's newser in Orlando, FL today:

He made a bad choice of words when saying the U.S. needs to consider “what impact does it have on whether or not there’s going to be martial law continuing in Pakistan.” He should have said whether or not martial law will be reinstated – it was lifted nearly two weeks ago. A minor slip, maybe, but not a subject he wants to mess up on when he is already considered weak in the area of foreign policy.

It's not the mistake itself that will raise eyebrowses -- it's Huckabee's lack of intellectual ease, his lack of felicity, with foreign policy at a critical moment when everyone is paying attention.

Mitt Romney, for example, may have the same degree of experience, but he's boned up and is much more comfortable answering complicated questions about foreign policy.

Comments (33)

This is nothing compared to Romney's howlers, but the press hates Huckabee.

Posted by goethean | December 27, 2007 1:49 PM

It's not just the press that hates Huckabee. Most people that see who he is see his face slowly morphing into Bill Clinton's. His campaign was over the minute he started his crusade and started a theological fight with Mormons. His candidacy will be over when he loses Iowa and he will be a historical side-note of how not to campaign. He will also be a fun trivia question in a few years: Name the Governor of Arkansas not named Bill Clinton who ran for President of the US as a Christian bigot, looks like Gomer Pyle, acted like Ned Flinders from the Simpsons, and pretended he wasn't a bigot with an Alfred E Newman expression of "Who me?" on his face?

I know....sort of a long question but it works.

Posted by Eric | December 27, 2007 2:06 PM

Name a politician that hasn't made a blunder when speaking!

The problem with Huckabee is that he is a likeable guy with no substance. Kind of like a marshmallow peep! His attack on Mormans really turned me off on him as well.

Romney has brains and will be good for this country. We need his financial savy. We also need someone that has no baggage and scandals. That's why they make such a big deal over things like MLK because they can't find any garbage on him.

Posted by Westernmom | December 27, 2007 3:21 PM

Huckabee is a great preacher! That is it!

He certainly should have nothing to do with our
presidency. We need a strong man with courage
like PRESIDENT GEORGE W.BUSH! He has kept my
family and my country safe during a very troubling time.

I cannot imagine Mr. Huckabee as a president - he
is good where he is and as a witty preacher. No,
nothing more.

I cannot imagine Hillary as a president. What is
she going to do, tell Iran what kind of HEALTH
CARE SHE CAN ISSUE FOR THEM? WILL SHE TELL THEM
HOW SHE SAT IN ON ALL OF HER HUSBAND'S MEETINGS?
NO, HILLARY YOU MAY NOT BE THE PRESIDENT!

RON PAUL - DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH. HE JUST WANTS
TO TALK TO THE MIDDLE EASTERNERS AND TELL THEM
HOW MUCH HE LIKES THEM.

NO BARAK OBAMA YOU MAY NOT BE A PRESIDENT BECAUSE
YOU HAVE NOT THE STRENGTH TO TELL THESE PEOPLE
WHERE TO GET OFF. SOME DAY YOU MAY HAVE IT BUT
YOU DON'T AS YET.

Posted by tess | December 27, 2007 3:46 PM

Worse is when he says he expresses concern and - watch this - "APOLOGIZES" for the assassination! Was the assassin an American? Or he is trying to be the "CHRISTIAN LEADER" who takes upon himself (Huckabee) the misakes and sins of everyone? Shuckssss!...*uckapee! He's such an IDIOT!

Posted by jon | December 27, 2007 4:45 PM

Huckabee is no Bill Clinton. He is an honest man who is honest even when his answers earn him disfavor from both the left and the right. Now Romney, on the other hand, is the classic panderer, who will say anything to get a vote. HE's the closest thing the GOP has to Bill Clinton (or, more specifically, Hillary). I call him Willard Clinton.

Posted by The Values Voter (TVV) | December 27, 2007 7:39 PM

Look on the bright side for the Huckster. He won't have to talk about pardoning Bhutto's assassin. On the other hand, he just might start hinting at the coming of Armageddon, etc. The best thing for Reverend Mike is that he returns to the bull-pit....err, I mean pulpit....and do whatever it is that Jesus would do if he had to wear those inane WWJD buttons.

Posted by Jake | December 27, 2007 8:54 PM

Tess - I think you may have inadvertantly left your Caps Lock on. And take your medication, dear.

Posted by Warren Terra | December 27, 2007 9:55 PM

Such seems to be the disposition of man, that whatever makes a distinction produces rivalry. -Dr. Johnson, Journey to the Western Islands, 1775: http://theseedsof9-11.com

Posted by Peggy McGilligan | December 27, 2007 10:14 PM

After eight years of Bill Clinton, we had peace and record prosperity. After seven years of Bush, we have constant war and utter economic disaster.

If any of you are not in the top 1%, and still looking at the Republicans, then you are voting against your own interests.

Posted by thugsarestupid | December 27, 2007 10:33 PM

Big difference between Huckabee's and Romney's time as Governor's and what it taught them about foreign policy.

Huck's foreign policy as AR governor was to try to get Bush to lift the Cuban embargo (he's since changed that position while in FLorida to get Cuban votes).
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/10/huckabee-backtracks-on-cuba-embargo/

Romney's foreign policy as MA governor was to prevent taxpayer dollars being spent on providing security detail for a terrorist invited to speak at Harvard. (no position shift since, for the record.)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2006/09/update_romney_v_khatamiharvard_1.html

Quite a contrast, eh?

Posted by Jeff Fuller | December 27, 2007 11:21 PM

if you think george bush did a good job as president you have a mental impairment.

Posted by bakum | December 27, 2007 11:33 PM

"It's not the mistake itself that will raise eyebrowses -- it's Huckabee's lack of intellectual ease, his lack of felicity, with foreign policy at a critical moment when everyone is paying attention."

Huh. You and Ms Cordes have sat listening to President Bush for seven years and never denigrate him like this.
Bush lied about the WMD in Iraq. He has repeatedly lied that Saddam "chose to deny inspectors", he did not know his own administrations position on Lebanon during the recent war with Israel.

But Huckabee isn't one of the Beltway media's chosen ones (McCain/Romney/Clinton), so you pretend panic over this.

Posted by XYZ | December 28, 2007 12:14 AM

OK, I'm a bit confused here. Was martial law really removed in Pakistan? Did they go back to the status quo ante? Is the legitimate head of the Supreme Court back on the bench? Or is the judiciary still being run by the lackies who agreed to support the army? If so, then did Huckabee really make a mistake?

Posted by Fritz | December 28, 2007 2:38 AM

You are a little behind in the facts, Huckabee's statement was clarified almost right away:

**UPDATE: The Huckabee campaign later clarified this last point, telling CBS News: "Governor Huckabee firmly believes that emergency rule/martial law in Pakistan, as a practical matter, should not be viewed as having been completely lifted until the restrictions imposed during that period on the press and judges are removed. Although General Musharraf let the pendulum swing a little more freely in the last few weeks, the overall policy, which is what the Governor was addressing in his comments, has been, and continues to be, repressive.

Posted by Lisa | December 28, 2007 6:29 AM

Hey Tess: Take a valium girl. Way to angry to even make a sensible post. No more all caps and get a handle on your infatuation with GWB!

Posted by sid | December 28, 2007 9:06 AM

Huckabee is a typical power addict. He started off with a gateway drug called Preacher, but when that didn't work anymore he needed something stronger, so he ran for public office. Steadily graduating to the harder drugs he topped out as governor of Arkansas, but even that failed to satisfy his craving. Now he's after the mother of all power trips, the strongest drug in the world - President of the United States.

His true colors are beginning to show in Iowa. On a pheasant hunting trip to show how gun-friendly he is, he managed to bag one of four birds that his envoy flushed out in front of a gaggle of cameramen. Solemnly describing how he chose which bird to kill he explained that the three that got away had Huckabee campaign stickers on their sides, while the hapless straggler had a rival's campaign button on its butt.

Haven't we had enough of the vicious politicians? Give the old coot a pulpit in some backwood logging town where he can hug snakes and drink his own urine!

Posted by Dead Howler | December 28, 2007 10:02 AM

If Bush is in over his head (can anyone doubt that?) Huckleberry is at the bottom of the pool and sinking fast.

Posted by aqualung | December 28, 2007 11:15 AM

I think your analysis shows just how out of touch the educated class is from what they try to analyze. The Huckster has god and good intentions. What else do you need? If you say Bush had the same my reply would be, no he didn't, "and everyone knew that".

Posted by ken | December 28, 2007 12:38 PM

Recommended reading for thugsarestupid:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewArticle.cfm/Crime--Drugs--Welfare-and-Other-Good-News-10999

Things are not nearly as gloomy in America as might be expected given the amount of pessimism being expressed. If there is reason for concern about our future it should most assuredly be directed at our fiscal recklessness in both personal and government finances. Is there a democratic candidate, with even an outside chance of winning the nomination, that you would trust to reign in congressional budgetary excess?

Posted by Seneca | December 28, 2007 1:37 PM

Mark, although I agree with the premise of your article, I'd like to compare and contrast their "same degree of experience" you mention... Lets see, both candidates have comparable educational backgrounds that qualify them to lead the United States (Huckabee's 2.5-year bachelor degree in religion from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia is roughly equivalent to Romney's cum laude law degree and Baker scholar MBA degree from Harvard, right?). Both candidates served as governors of states that face equally complex problems (Arkansas, with its population of 2.8 million and gross state product of $87 billion, is pretty much the same as Massachusetts, with its population of 6.4 million and gross state product of $318 billion, right?). Both candidates have pre-political experience that qualify them to be President (Huckabee was a pastor of several Southern Baptist churches in Arkadelphia, Texarkana, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas and served as president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention; no doubt equal to Romney's founding and taking of Bain Capital from a $37M fund to a $50B fund in 20 years and rescuing the 2002 Olympics). And both have wives and children that would make a great First Family (compare Huckabee family photo at http://rubechat.kfan.com/forums/thread/2297213.aspx with Romney family photo at http://blog.electromneyin2008.com/about-mitt-romney/ ). So now I totally understand how you can say they have the same degree of experience... Please.

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