Chuck Norris Hearts Huckabee

I saw presidential hopeful (but maybe not too hopeful) Mike Huckabee this morning. He spoke at the new church I go to and was very good at playing the down-to-earth game. Going to church in New Hampshire means that politicians occasionally stop by and hope to make a good impression, though Huckabee is the highest level candidate I've seen so far. The church does not side with a specific political party (refreshing difference from the crushing right-wind politics of the churches I went to up at the Bo') and has always been careful to support those placed in authority no matter their affiliations. This morning, for example, the pastor thanked God that all was safe and well with the Clinton campaign even as Huckabee was in the audience. With that said, I think most of the church will be supporting Huckabee now.

He was told not to talk politics but to just preach (he used to be a Baptist minister). And I'm impressed by how shrewd he was. I guess it makes sense that preaching helps you to become a convincing political speaker and a political speaker an engaging preacher. Technically, yes, Huckabee stuck to the Bible, generally steered clear of politics, and made no promises of what he was going to do if he ever became elected. But he subtly made references to his trip(s?) to Iraq, his respect and gratitude to American soldiers, and his commitment to the poor, tooting his own horn in offhand ways, mixing the medicine of his campaign in with his message. He was self-deprecating, full of jokes, and incredibly charming. He even joined in with the praise band for an impromptu jam, playing a little bit of bass. The worship leader made a crack about how Huckabee was the only person to ever wear a tie in the praise band, which prompted Huckabee, in a suit and far sharply dressed than the rest of the casual-clad congregation, to rip off his tie on the spot. This then led the pastor, who had only put on a tie for the occasion, to gladly rip his off as well.

Reading up on him, I realize now that he's not as awful as I had expected him to be and that his politics exhibits some real nice differences from the other Republicans in contention (which explains why the party conservatives are still complaining about the Mormon Romney and divorced Giuliani instead of jumping on-board behind the Baptist minister). It's too bad that I still think he's wrong on health care, foreign policy, national security, etc, etc (you know, the details), because I liked what I read, appreciated his charismatic and restrained performance this morning, and thinks that if he ought to run for something, maybe he should try being governor again. And while I would never vote or endorse him, if you have to vote for his party, go Huckabee. We could do (have seen/are seeing) a lot worse.