This morning I watched an interview with Mike Huckabee and had yet another crisis of conscience.
Anytime I see him in a debate, or read an article about him, I can easily say “well, he’s just another asshole social conservative”. Be it his no exceptions approach to abortion, or his disbelief of evolution, I would generally be inclined to ignore this type (as I ignore Tom Tancredo and Sam Brownback).
But in a one-on-one interview? Holy hell, he is charming.
Now, I am generally far too cynical to fall for this sort of thing. I am completely immune to the Obamamania that has swept liberaldom. In fact, that whole “rock star” thing is what has made Obama fall right behind John Edwards in my list of Democrats who I am least likely to vote for.
Everytime I see an interview with Huckabee, though, I come away thinking “Hell, I’d vote for him!”
NO I WOULDN’T!
I am someone who thinks 99% of the Democratic field is too right-wing. God.
I have no idea what it is. Maybe it’s that he always tells jokes that are actually funny (my favorite: when asked by Stephen Colbert “George Bush: Great or Greatest?” he replied something to the effect of “he falls somewhere between McKinley and Harding.” HAHAHAHA WHAT SHITTY PRESIDENTS!!! No one in the audience laughed. eh.) Or maybe it is that he is a bass player. Maybe it’s how he makes his policies sound specific, but vague enough to not piss me off.
What the hell is it about politicians from Hope, Arkansas, anyway?
So, who have you been charmed by against your better judgment?
He comes close–but there is still no sale. The abortion issue alone would kill him for me, but the evloution thing is just to scary… But I’d love to go to dinner with him, and wouldn’t mind him as a VP. (I’d love to see a ticket completely shake up modern politics–Hillary and Huckabee for instance).
I can’t think of any off hand, but I have felt that sinking feeling…freaky.
There’s no contradiction between somebody being a nice guy and having political views with which you strongly disagree. Huckabee strikes me as a genuinely decent person. He handled himself well on The Daily Show, with little of the awkwardness that often occurs when Jon has a conservative guest on. He seems sincerely concerned about the country. I’d never vote for him for President, but my feelings for him as a person are the polar opposite of how I feel about, say, the current batch in power.
John McCain is charming and funny in interviews in places like the Daily Show, and seemed to come off as a straight shooter. But it looks like he’s unlikely to get the nomination.
is waiting for the obligatory D&D reference
Huckabee doesn’t sound like a bad guy. I agree with what elanorigby said.
McCain, on the other hand, lost any and all credibility with me. He took it while Rove berated his family and now he’s a lapdog for Shrub’s policies.
Apply your wisdom modifier to your saving throw. Good luck!
We aims ta please.
Heh. Thanks. I’m really surprised that it lasted that long.
Holy shit. Well, that certainly wasn’t done on purpose.
ETA: it’s the title, right? Or is Mike Huckabee a big Dungeons and Dragons fan? He really doesn’t seem the type. Christians don’t like that game so much, do they? They think that it’s like devil worship or something, right? D&D does mean Dungeons and Dragons, doesn’t it?
The title of the OP begged for it–speaking of which, to unhijack:
Bob Dole.
No, really!
Crusty old war veteran with a dry sense of humor. It was like Lou Grant was running for president.
I saw Fred Thompson on some talk show or other recently, and said to my husband (who’s far more politically conservative than I) that I sure wish I found even a single point of agreement on his policies because the man is incredibly personable. My husband felt the exact same way, amazingly enough. Thompson is a political Neanderthal, but I swear he could charm the birds out of the trees.
What concerns me are the number of voters who are swayed by personality and personableness to the detriment of position. Which explains how the current batch ended up in power; I hear Shrub can be quite charming in person. Not that I’d ever get close enough to find out for myself, obviously.
ETA: My husband runs into Bob Dole frequently where he works. He also doesn’t agree with the man’s politics, but apparently he’s a genuinely nice and decent guy – doesn’t move around with an entourage, is pleasant to even the littlest people who deal with him.
Don’t know a thing about him, but I saw two of Mike Gravel’s campaign ads on Youtube and thought “OMG! I don’t know who you are, but I’m going to start carrying a campaign sign around just because of these ads!” Brilliant damn ads, in a “David Lynch for Orthodox God-Emperor of Saturn” sort of way.
Huckabee is my greatest fear as a Democrat right now. He’s the only Republican I think could beat Clinton.
I grew up in Arkansas during part of his governorship. I didn’t think much about him at the time. The liberal papers I read (Arkansas Times, mostly) portrayed him as a buffoon and a laughingstock. I’m not sure how much of that was just plain partisan slander and how much he actually grew in office. Even the mainstream center-right daily, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, never seemed to take him quite seriously back then. By the time I left, I was vaguely aware that there was more to him than I had once thought.
Like the OP, my impression whenever I see him on tv, especially Colbert or The Daily Show, is that he is one likable SOB. I hated the word when it was applied to Bill Clinton, but I do now wonder if there isn’t something in the water in Hope that just makes folks slick.