Re: Huckabee

Hey [friends],

Some of you have... expressed your concerns, shall we say, over my casual support of Republican Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee in my last post. And although I might not be entirely coherent, educated, or logical in my theories on Presidential politics, I thought I might be able to clear up my stance a little bit - at least for this upcoming election.

For one, I don't actually think that I'd vote for Huckabee if it turned out to be him verses, say Clinton... especially not based on one ad. (Now if Chuck Norris was standing next to the ballot booths while I was voting, that'd be another story!) :)

It is interesting though, that because of the "political climate" in America, I find myself caring less about what a candidate claims that s/he stands for, and rather more about the impression that said candidate makes on me [or doesn't] as a loyal, trustworthy citizen. And Huckabee seems to be a solid, stand up guy. I agree with you that on most [if not all] accounts, Huckabee takes a different stance than I might on the issues, and so technically I shouldn't even consider him. But I find myself trusting him more than, well... most of the viable candidates.

Some of these candidates I see as bearing a cross, or caring an agenda that's outside of doing the best for the country. (Power? Pride? Fame?) And I hate watching these debates where candidates squirm their way around answers and try to distract us from the severity of the issues with snappy comebacks and winning smiles... So I'm cynical about the process and the people in it, and I feel that regardless of where a candidate stands these days, I want them to be genuine. Because the reality is, if we have a genuine leader in the top position in this country (and not a no-brained, power-hungry-war-monger), the power will stay with the people - and it will be the people making unified decisions on the big issues with the President as their voice.
An ideal President doesn't have to agree with me on everything. They just have to be sensible enough to understand the many sides of the issues at hand, and selfless enough to act in the best interest of the country. All of the candidates say that they could do that. For the Rebulicans, Huckabee seems the most capable.

Maybe he's just the best actor. Yeesh.

Like I said, I probably wouldn't vote for him over the Dems top pick next fall. On paper, he stands just too far to the right. There's just that part of his character that I think is missing, for the most part, in politics today. Obama is the other candidate that I find some of that same quality in. I think that he would still be carrying quite a bit as the first black Pres., but the man's genuineness is apparent. Huckabee and Obama talk like they believe what they're saying - whereas Clinton, Romney, Giuliani, Edwards, McCain... I suspect them of having their fingers crossed half the time they're talking...

Sorry. There's a big mix of patriotic idealism and cynicism going on in this post, and honestly I'm still pretty lost. If anything though, this race is interesting, and likely, the results will be historical. And I hope that the following 4-8 years follow suit. [Well, historical in a good way... not like the past 8 years!]