The Mike Huckabee For President Campaign: Where Knowledge Of World Affairs Comes To Die
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in 2008 | foreign policy | Mike Huckabee — Comments (106) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
I realize that Presidential candidates are under a lot of stress and pressure and from time to time, they make a gaffe or two. But this is ridiculous and indicates quite clearly that Mike Huckabee is not the most well-versed foreign policy candidate around . . . to say the least:
Explaining statements he made suggesting that the instability in Pakistan should remind Americans to tighten security on the southern border of the United States, Mr. Huckabee said Friday that "we have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all other nationalities, except those immediately south of the border."
Asked to justify the statement, he later cited a March 2006 article in The Denver Post reporting that from 2002 to 2005, Pakistanis were the most numerous non-Latin Americans caught entering the United States illegally. According to The Post, 660 Pakistanis were detained in that period.
A recent report from the Department of Homeland Security, however, concluded that, over all, illegal immigrants from the Philippines, India, Korea, China and Vietnam were all far more numerous than those from Pakistan.
In a separate interview on Friday on MSNBC, Mr. Huckabee, a Republican, said that the Pakistani government "does not have enough control of those eastern borders near Afghanistan to be able go after the terrorists." Those borders are on the western side of Pakistan, not the eastern side.
This is embarrassing. This is unsettling. And this appears to indicate that Mike Huckabee is not ready for prime time. Add all of this to Huckabee's past foreign policy errors--including his disastrous Foreign Affairs article and his complete lack of preparedness in discussing the recent NIE on Iran's nuclear capabilities a full 24 hours after the NIE was made public--and you have a Presidential candidate not ready for prime time.
I measure my words carefully when I write this: If Huckabee can't be bothered, during an era of consequence when it comes to matters of foreign policy and national security--to learn the basics of foreign policy, then he has no business running for President. And if he persists in running, he will have no business being surprised once the electorate makes clear that they will not take him seriously thanks to his lack of knowledge.
but sadly, Huck's core supporters seem to get even more worked up when their guy has his policy chops questioned.
They seem to see everything as an affront to Jesus or something.
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Daniel 2:20 And he [God] changeth the times and seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.
I wonder how Tim Russert will handle him. He's a charming, folksy guy, but that's just hard to crawl out of. All other issues aside, his apparent ignorance of FP is the primary reason I am very uncomfortable with a Huckabee candidacy.
If he's elected, I just hope that he gets some really good lawyers to tell him whether or not to invade Pakistan from it's eastern Afghan border. ;)
will not even challenge him on his foreign policy gaffes. This is the MSM's candidate to ensure a democrat victory.
They aren't going to talk about puppies and chocolate. Russert is nothing if not agressive in his questioning, so it would be glaringly obvious if he didn't go after Huckabee. I've been giving some thought to how I expect the interview to go, and I tend to think it is going to be a bloodbath. I still am not sure why Huckabee agreed, especially in light of the proximity to his make it or break it state.
It is monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance for its support.
- Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792
...he shouldn't be President. Mike has already been on MTP, and he's simply giving them one last chance to take him down.
It is monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance for its support.
- Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792
that Tim Russert has some deep-seated desire for Huckabee to be the Republican nominee? I don't tend to buy into the thought of the media as a whole advocating for one candidate or another, but by what measure of reason and logic have you determined that Russert wants Huck?
Let me guess - you have decided that he is the weakest candidate, so that means Russert thinks he is the weakest candidate, and so he wants Huckabee to lose in a spectacular fashion in the general. Was I close?
It is monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance for its support.
- Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792
Huckabee tomorrow. That will tell us a lot about any inherent biases he may have. Does he push Huckabee to elaborate on his positions, beliefs, and plans if he becomes president? Or does he try to impugn any of the other candidates positions in a lead-in and then ask Huckabee how he would handle the same situation? In other words, a softball.
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
www.fred08.com
Russert will make a fool out of him and not let him use that folksy thing to get out of serious issues. That's the death nail for Huckabee. He better be studying his old geography book from theology school.
Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone. --Mitt Romney
That's because we all know that's the most pressing issue at hand for any Presidential candidate. Of course, I say this as someone who will not vote for any candidate that denies Evolution or natural selection or who believes the earth is 6000 years old.
the "CIA and/or immigration" for the stats he used!
So obviously I missed the joke about this guy, aside from his prolife stance what was it that gives him a "conservative" label?
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
And that's about it.
There is no President but Lincoln, and Reagan is his prophet
Before the Bhutto Assassination, no other candidate was focusing as heavily on Pakistan as Mike Huckabee. He may make some little gaffes here and there, but Mike understands the big picture.
That's right. I forgot.
Huckster's theology mail order theology degree makes him the most qualified to fight the GWOT.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL.
Understanding Islamic eschatology provides a key into the mindset of some of these terrorists, especially Iran's Ahmadinejad.
understand the relatively simple LDS theology, what makes you think the simpleton knows ANYTHINGb about Islamis eschatology? He certainly didn't pick it up at his mail order bible school. And I doubt he picked it up on his own since, given all the time he spent reviewing clemency requests and sell state jobs in Arkansas.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Well I'd hate to see what he does with topics he hasn't focussed on.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
He may make some little gaffes here and there, but Mike understands the big picture.
Unfortunately it isn't just a little gaffe here and there. It is little gaffes here and there, and here and there, and over here and over there, and around this corner, and over there in the street, and ...
Is it a good thing for a Presidential candidate to constantly have to "clarify" his statements? Huckabee is doing that far more than any other candidate. Yes, the other guys do indeed drop a gaffe or two. Romney dropped that MLK oopsy just a few days ago. But that is about one gaffe every other month for Romney. What is Huckabee's gaffe rate?
Allow me to blunt. What has Huckabee been doing this past year? Why has he not studied up on foreign policy? What has he been doing that was so urgent that he neglected a major portion of being a President in a time of war and great instability in the world.
Contrast that with Romney. Have you ever studied, listened, or read carefully what Romney has to say about foriegn policy? Try it some time. Even if you don't like the man, you will be hard pressed not to be impressed by his grasp of the subject. It is in depth, spot on, and well thought out.
Why isn't Huckabee the same way? He has had plenty of time to prepare this past year. So why didn't he make better use of the time available?
Even if you don't like the man, you will be hard pressed not to be impressed by his grasp of the subject.
Certainly I am impressed by his mastery of the party-line platitudes. And not just in foreign policy.
...which would you choose, mastery of platitudes, or serial gaffing, stumbling, mispeaking, endless clarifications and explanations?
I am correct: Mitt Romney will tell you what you, the average member of the base, want to hear. Hence the platitudes.
Remember Churchill's fox and hedgehog? Give me the man who knows the one big thing. Where Pakistan is concerned, that's Mike Huckabee -- not Mitt Romney. As something of a Churchillian scholar himself, I'm surprised Pejman has forgotten this.
That's because it's stupid, just flat out dumb and reckless, to be like Obamabee and run your ignorant mouth the way he does, doing his best to alienate an essential WoT ally.
You know we do primary staging out of Kyrgyzstan, right? And you know we can fly direct to Bagram from a long, long ways off? I may be wrong about this, but I don't believe we route anything significant through Quetta anymore -- and certainly not through Islamabad or Karachi.
Mostly what comes to our forces in Afghanistan from Pakistani territory these days is al Qaeda and Taliban. Tremendously helpful, that.
An ally indeed. And Mike Huckabee gets criticized for a poor grasp of affairs abroad....
Have we no right to demand that the only nation on the planet harboring an al Qaeda/Taliban statelet either eradicate it, or allow us to do it? Have we no right to demand that they control their own borders and peoples, or allow us to do it?
Are we not America? Is our cause not just? Are we unwilling to pay the price? Have we not seem the alternative leaping from flaming skyscrapers in our own cities? Good God, people.
Everyone's so enthusiastic for quashing Iraq and Iran: but heavens, Pakistan, why, that's inviolate!
waiting to go up. Musharaf has been walking the razor's edge on our behalf for the last six years who HAS been willing to go after jihadist. Oh yeah, there's that little nuclear thing...
Let's put all our eggs into the basket of a landlocked country that doesn't even border Afghanistan!
....we already did. Some time ago. And it's worked just fine.
It does not appear that you know what you're talking about here. Which renders your horror at Huckabee -- well, disposable.
We haven't made Pakistan our enemy, which would prevent us from using Pakistan to pull out if we needed to. We may not be using Pakistan right now, but we haven't committed not to using them ever.
We still have options under Bush that we would not have if we did what Obamabee wants us to do.
You are out of your mind if you think an overland withdrawal from Afghanistan to the Pakistani coast is in the cards -- or even a plausible contingency. If -- if -- we ever had to evacuate all Americans from Afghanistan, the facilities at Manas Air Base and at points west would suffice for an airlift. An airlift would mean that the landlocked or not-landlocked status of the host nation would be irrelevant. An airlift is how we sustain our entire war effort now.
Apparently, in your mind, the United States military has it wrong. We therefore should tolerate Pakistan's own tolerance of al Qaeda and the Taliban, just in case we must implement your fantasy defeat-scenario.
That's fantastic.
Russia was our ally against Germany during WWII. We KNEW they were not our friends, but we needed them (FDR believed) to defeat the Nazis.
We have had many allies who you might not want to turn your back on, or invite to dinner.
But if Pakistan renders us the same sort of aid against al Qaeda that the USSR rendered us against the Third Reich, I'll eat my hat.
They seem to have gone out of fashion.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Now those things people in the west wear are a different matter.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Had it not been for the $11 billion in war material the U.S. sent to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act, the USSR's survival would have been in great jeopardy, let alone their ability to effectively engage the enemy militarily. Even Stalin acknowledged at the Yalta Conference in 1945 that the Lend-Lease program was a primary factor in the anti-Hitler alliance.
And to your point above that the word "ally" used to mean something different, about 70% of that aid reached the Soviet Union by way of the Persian Gulf through Iran. "Ally", today, means what it always did. It's just that former allies can become enemies.
Huck is taking the balanced approach of maintaining Pakistan as a strong ally while also making sure to deal with the terrorism there.
http://www.redstate.com/blogs/anteater/2007/dec/27/huckabee_was_right_on...
Man, I really need to learn HTML.
Anteater,
If he's been talking with any sort of substance about it since September, then why doesn't he know anything about it in late December?
The guy is making the 1999 version of then Governor Bush look like Kissinger in his prime.
Tommy Oliver
www.race42008.com
If I were doing a doctoral dissertation on the stupidity of the American Electorate I would quote that in my writing to support my study.
Well I think his trip up in words is bad for him, Huckabee is bleeding bad in Iowa, new ARG poll which has a sample size 5 times larger than the latest LA Times poll that had Huckabee ahead says that the race is really Mitt at 32% and Huck at 23%... a 5 point drop for the Huckster..... Looks like his own mouth, not these attack ads is what is sinking his ship.
ARK Conservative
ARG is one of the worst polls out there.
See example
for 2004.
In 2008, they've been even wackier.
Tommy Oliver
www.race42008.com
....not the sharpest spoon in the drawer. His administration would need an Office of Official Clarifications.
This is not your finest work. If the shoe was on the other foot, you'd be reading the passage you cite much more critically -- and you certainly wouldn't be citing the Wehner piece. This is recitation of received wisdom, not analysis.
What Anteater writes above is accurate: prior to the Bhutto assassination, only Mike Huckabee was giving Pakistan the attention it deserved. See here for details -- he's been talking about things there, and getting it right, since at least September.
But no: let's look at the trees, and ignore the forest.
Please please..if you live there do not give this man any votes. its not gonna help anything. I liked this guy some what back in Dec of last year when i knew nothing of him. but please dont let this guy when the state
In the aftermath of the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan is a country on the brink of political and civil chaos, which could lead to anarchy, and an opening for a radical Muslim extremist takeover by al Qaeda; the Taliban; and/or elements supportive of these terrorists organizations. The prospect of any such takeover would be a national security disaster for the United States, the region, and the free world, given that Pakistan possess approximately 100 nuclear weapons and intermediate range missiles to deliver them. The situation is rapidly deteriorating, with rioting having resulted in the destruction of 160 banks and 18 train stations, according to recent news reports, and the opportunity to regain stability is diminishing with every moment of continued civil unrest.
Pakistani President Musharraf, the former military leader who seized power by military coup, must act quickly and decisively to stop the chaos, and potential collapse into anarchy, with all of the attendant risk to security, including the grave risk of the country’s nuclear weapons being seized by the terrorist organizations, or their political allies operating within the nation’s current intelligence apparatus. The fundamental question centers on the measures Musharraf must implement to diminish further civil unrest and restore political stability. What action should the Pakistani leader pursue?
First, he must arrange to meet with moderate opposition political leaders, including former Prime Minister Sharif, who was also subjecting to an assassination attempt. As an outcome of this effort, he must announce elections will be held within 30-45 days, with international observers present to establish credibility. Musharraf could simultaneously resign from office in deference to the best interests of his country. However, given his apparent predilection for power, a resignation is improbable. Secondly, he and the moderate political opposition elements must agree to aggressively pursue Al Qaeda and the Taliban, operating in the western tribal region of the country and destroy them. These organizations present the most dangerous threat to internal stability, and of course, to the civilized world as well. They will certainly attempt to sow additional civil uprising in their effort to further destabilize the country. Accordingly, the U.S. and its allies must pressure President Musharraf to act, and to do so immediately.
http://www.sheetanchor.wordpress.org
http://www.sheetanchor.org
and I would speculate that this will separate more women from Huckabee than men. The men may cling longer for the Fairtax, but with women my guess is this is the deal breaker.
www.fred08.com
Redneck Hippie
It's certainly not as ridiculous as the Pat Robertson candidacy -- Hickabee doesn't seem to be a nut. But I'd never vote for someone who would so obviously further the erosion of the wall of separation between church and state.
The end is not nigh. Balance the budget!
I couldn't agree more with Pejman on this one.
You can overlook a couple of innocent errors. Every candidate slips up every now and then on the details. But in the last several weeks Mike Huckabee has made one foreign policy gaffe after another. At some point, even if you are his strongest supporter you have to wonder?
Does Mike really understand what is going on the World? Do I feel comfortable with a man who admits he has no foreign policy credentials then doesn't seem to understand where Pakistan is on a map representing our national security interests against radical Islamic terrorists?
Its going to be hard for anyone outside the most hardcore Huckabee supporters to say "yes" to the above questions.
doesn't seem to understand where Pakistan is on a map
Condescending statements like these are uncalled for and untrue. Mike has actually been to the region (Iraq and Afghanistan) unlike other candidates like Giuliani.
You know what else is uncalled for? All the feigned ignorance when it came to Huckabee telling Pakistan that he is sorry for the tragic assassination. Every reasonable person can judge the context and come to the conclusion that Huckabee didn't mean to assign any blame at all to America. But some pundits became pretenders just to score a political point against Huck.
Lots more fodder for "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches"
The Unofficial RedState FAQ
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
Huck is a good speaker if he is anything, and Letterman is a left wing ARSE.
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Molon Labe!
That's why his apologists have to constantly spin whatever he says.
No argument on the Letterman characterization. But I assume you've seen what he does with Bush's "mis-speaks"...thus my comment.
The Unofficial RedState FAQ
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
I know he mispoke, I think all candidates do. But the world media does not pick up the explanation, they just get a clip of him apologizing, and it goes on Al Jazeera and all other such stations and all over the web.
Its a mistake we can't afford to make. Heck, Quale mispelled a word and look what happened to him.
Jason in NorCal
Huckabee wins handily in Iowa...John wins in New Hampshire...Mitt and Fred as the movie might have said "gone in 10 days". Then we can have some meaningful discussions here about electable candidates.
W, Slick Willy, and Reagan all took the oval office using a governor's office as the stepping stone. How much foreign affairs experience can one have coming from a state government.
As for the Pakistan quote, well it was a gaffe...but when you say talk so often that will come........more importantly though is in my opinion....
when one criticizes a man for mis-speaking and not his policy stances...maybe that same man needs to pull out all the stops (including cheap shots).
Huck is as prepared for the foreign affairs aspect of the Presidency as any of his above mentioned predicessors coming from the governor's office.
Shame on those who recommended this blog...purely trash politics
And you've clearly, and probably willfully, ignored the fact that...
1. Reagan was extraordinarily well prepared in FA. His leadership brought the Cold War to an end.
2. Carter was a two bit populist snake oil salesman governor who tapped into his faith and sold the nation a bill of goods to get elected to an office he was unprepared and unqualified for. And he left us a disaster.
3. Clinton... see Carter.
4. Bush... the war intervened so we'll never know much more than that about him.
5. Huckaphony... See Carter. The man is a two bit phony in so far over his head it's dangerous.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
of his policy stances:
He is against free trade.
He is against low taxes.
He repudiates the legitimacy of the free market system.
These are core Republican beliefs that he is repudiating. In effect, he is turning back the clock on Reaganism. Would Ronald Reagan have ever said anything this callous?:
"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
That statement alone disqualifies Huckabee from ever becoming President, let alone our party's nominee.
For REAL LEADERSHIP look to
news(dot)aol(dot)com / political-machine / straw-poll
Remove spaces and put in dots and vote for your candidate! Don't listen to polls by fox news and co. Only 900 people were polled in those!
And Huckabee has lost all of it :
Huckabee's gaffe's and policy positions are finally reflected in the polls...which are historically lagging indicators.
Romney wins IA by 4-5%.
It is monarchical and aristocratical government only that requires ignorance for its support.
- Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
www.fred08.com
so please explain how he redeemed himself on foreign policy in your opinion. And I am not being snarky, I'm interested in your take on this.
did well:
He sufficiently watered down the "arrogant, bunker mentality" claim against President Bush to make it seem more like a nuanced critique he could use to his advantage with world leaders. It was his "not 100%" for and against spin. He needed to do that. The fact is that France and Germany have come our way thanks to Bush's persistence, and I would prefer that our candidates emphasize that, but it is useful to send a message that he would be MORE receptive to other ideas.
more later
got to go to the store for food
But I will come back soon and continue with a detailed analysis
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
www.fred08.com
And thanks for your reponse so far. I admit to watching with a jaundiced eye this morning, so it's good to get another opinion. I acknowledge your comments about how he watered down his original statements about the bunker mentality thing--but isn't it pretty sad that so much of what he does these days consists of the same thing--watering down, clarifying, retreating, deflecting, etc. Same for his comments about illegals.Okay, I see from the recent comments that you have more, so I'll close this one and go learn some more. Thanks for answering!
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
www.fred08.com
you once gave me--enough whiskey sours and you can stand anything. Just don't get the shrimp flavored noodles. Could never bring myself to eat something that included some questionable dried form of shrimp--always made me think of the old Seinfeld episode about buying shrimp out the back of someone's car.
I agree with Huck on the connection between Pakistan jihadists and our open borders. I don't care about the irrelevant mistake on the numbers arrested.
I want our enemies in Pakistan to fear that we would use military force inside Pakistan
to kill them and disrupt their safe havens even if the govt there opposed it and even against CLAIMS our action would destabilize the country.
The situation is not stable now. It could be made stable if the Pakistani govt waged full war on these same enemies that threaten them.
I don't believe Huck would act recklessly, and I love it when our guys remind libs like Russert that protecting America is paramount and that killing terrorists in COUNTRIES THAT HAVE NOT ATTACKED US, is part of the GWOT!
Huck defended his Arkansas policies well.
And I thought he had toned down the class rhetoric and the anti-GOP rhetoric enough.
So now, its down to cigar smoking in bars!
more later
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
www.fred08.com
term! But I like all our candidates there is a 1% chance Fred won't be the nominee, so I think we need to accentuate the positive.
except for McCain...
kidding
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
http://thehinzsightreport.com
www.theminorityreportblog.com
www.race42008.com
www.fred08.com
he will not win, but I am kind of negative that way. I agree about our candidates, I like them. btw, be careful about the McCain thing, Thompson loves the guy and they could team up.
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Molon Labe!
However, every time I think about McCain, I feel like the wife of an unfaithful husband who promises to change his ways if she will just take him back one more time.
Yes, I admire McCain and he is conservative most issues, but there are two things that are important to me national security and immigration. I know it is just a matter of time before McCain cheats on me again and trys to let 12 to 20 million illegal aliens stay in this country.
I may like McCain but I know the betrayal and heartbreak are just around the corner with him.
I am the same with Rudy. I gave him a lot of leeway because I just like the guy. But the gun control and tendencies towards authoritarianism made me go with Fred. I certainly think Fred has a lot of work to do, but I am willing to join the team and help.
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Molon Labe!
as gamecock has predicted too many times that SC voters would knock the pins out from under Huckabee. I think this is a lawyer appreciating the verbal gymnastics of someone else.
In a way I almost feel sorry for Huckabee. He's way in over his head and it's really showing now. He's SOP of joke, deny, deflect, and then smear isn't working now because the consequences are so grave. It's one thing to steal money or lie about raising taxes but we're now talking about the destiny of millions of people. I only hope that the magnitude of the issue will dawn on enough people in time.