Huckleberry Hound for President?

GOP Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is one of three Huckleberry Hounds:

• The first Huckleberry ("Huck," for short) was, of course, the cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera in 1958.

• A supporter of Mike Huckabee could well be called a Huck Hound, based on one definition of "hound" - an addict or a devotee, for example "an autograph hound" (according to Dictionary.Com).

• Mike Huckabee himself is the third Huckleberry Hound, for reasons based on the following material in Wikipedia's "Huckleberry Hound" article.

QUOTE:

"...Huckleberry was a blue dog that spoke with a Southern drawl, with a relaxed, sweet, and well-intentioned personality. The term "Huckleberry" can be a slang synonym for a rube or amateur, and that seems to fit Huck's personality. Most of his [episodes] consisted of Huck trying to find employment in different fields, ranging from policeman to (ironically enough) dogcatcher, with backfiring results, yet usually coming out on top, either through slow persistence or sheer luck. One regular villain in the series was "Powerful Pierre," a tall and muscular unshaven character with a French accent.

:UNQUOTE.

Several impressions based on the (above) quote:

• It's refreshing to behold someone with a "relaxed, sweet, and well-intentioned personality," but I doubt that will be enough to get the job done as President.

• If a "Huckleberry" is a rube [according to Dictionary.Com, "an unsophisticated person from a rural area"], then Huckabee must qualify if the content of his website is considered. [NOTE: I keep telling everybody, "You've got to read these candidates' written materials. You'll be amazed at how lame most of these are."]

• Our "Huck" Huckabee seems to be "trying to find employment in different fields" with his try for the presidency being the latest. If Huckabee gets elected, I hope he doesn't have too many "backfiring results" because we might not be lucky enough for him to come "out on top, either through slow persistence or sheer luck." We need a president with a program for all Americans and not just a "Christian Leader" (as he portrays himself in a recent ad).

• Knowing how Huck's Base feels about the French, I had to laugh at "Powerful Pierre" being one of Huckleberry Hound's "regular villains."

Should we worry about Huckleberry Huckabee?

Oh yeah, we should worry - big time. When you consider that one-third of American voters think George Bush is doing an acceptable job as president, it becomes painfully obvious there are a lot of fools out there. One-third is not a majority, but it's enough to sweep a narrow-visionary like Huckabee into office if it's energetic enough.

Since our lapdog media is so busy going ga-ga over Huck's surge in the polls, I guess it's up to me to point out a couple of things. I'll start with:

"My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them." - Huck's website.

And yet this Huckleberry "Huckabee Won't Give Views on Mormonism" - which is the title of Liz Sidoti's article in the Associated Press, which I'll quote in part:

QUOTE:

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a one-time Southern Baptist preacher who's seen his standing in Iowa surge with Christian evangelicals' support, wouldn't say Tuesday whether he thought Mormonism - rival Mitt Romney's religion - was a cult.
"I'm just not going to go off into evaluating other people's doctrines and faiths. I think that is absolutely not a role for a president," the former Arkansas governor said during a week in which religion has become an important issue in the Republican presidential race, particularly in Iowa.

:UNQUOTE.

He won't say?! He won't evaluate "other people's doctrines and faiths?" This sounds like a mighty odd thing for a Southern Baptist preacher to say. Aren't Baptists and other fundies preachy when it comes to saving souls and pointing out the errors of the ways of others? Maybe Huck wouldn't say, but I'm sure this is what he was thinking:

"Of course Mormonism is an anti-Christian cult. But I don't want to offend Mormons who might consider voting for me, so I can't say it's a cult. It bothers me profoundly, though, that Mormonism is winning converts among the Baptists. I'll fix that when I'm president."

From Mike Huckabee's website

The following Points are from Mike's website; the Counterpoints are my responses:

POINT:

The first thing I will do as President is send Congress my comprehensive plan for energy independence. We will achieve energy independence by the end of my second term.

COUNTERPOINT:

Nowhere on his website does Huck detail this plan.

POINT:

I believe that we are currently engaged in a world war. This war is not a conventional war, and these terrorists are not a conventional enemy.

COUNTERPOINT:

I was amused when Huck referred to this as "World War III," since many among his Base label it as World War IV - the Cold War having been WW III.

POINT:

It's an enemy conducive to being tracked down and eliminated by using the CIA and the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. We can accomplish a great deal, we can achieve tremendous bang for the buck, with swift, surgical air strikes and commando raids by our elite units...

COUNTERPOINT:

Maybe Huck really believes if we had enough Chuck Norris commandos unleashed upon the world, our national nightmare would end. Too many people love hearing that we can "accomplish a great deal" cheaply and swiftly. Huck is definitely pushing some powerful buttons here.

POINT:

General Petraeus and our troops are giving their all to provide a window of opportunity for the Iraq government to succeed, while the Democrats are running for the exit doors.

COUNTERPOINT:

"running for the exit doors?" This Huckleberry isn't above indulging in a little partisan scolding. However, the good preacher is being intentionally dishonest here by suggesting that "a window of opportunity" is all that's needed for the Iraqi government to succeed. A lot more than a window is needed, which is a lot more than we can provide - unless of course we intend to remain firmly planted in Iraq for decades (which I'm sure he fully intends).

POINT:

The surge is a military means to achieve the political end of sectarian reconciliation among the Iraqis.

COUNTERPOINT:

Can he be serious? No one, except perhaps a FOX news analyst, would claim that "military means" can achieve "political ends" in Iraq. They certainly won't lead to any kind of "reconciliation."

POINT:

We have to get tough with President Musharaff who has allowed Al Qaeda and the Taliban to have bases in Waziristan.

COUNTERPOINT:

How do you plan to "get tough," Mike? The only reason for saying he'd "get tough" is to excite the Base. The truth is: Mike Huckabee has no clue as to how to turn things around in Pakistan or throughout the Middle East for that matter. On his website, he extols the virtues of Israel but says not one word about the Palestinian cause. On the other hand, if I were elected president, I would promote complete withdrawal of American forces and aid from Pakistan.

POINT:

If I ever have to undertake a large invasion, I will follow the Powell Doctrine and use overwhelming force.

COUNTERPOINT:

This is a clear pitch to the Base that Huck won't be as stupid as Dubya was in Iraq, by claiming low troop levels would be adequate to the task at hand. But of course Huck, being a good GOP'er would never be so bold as to blast the head of the party. Huck is very much a good party man, which is exactly why he could never succeed as president in the very large ways that I could.

If Huckleberry is elected, I hope he considers the other elements of the Powell Doctrine. For instance, "Have the consequences of our contemplated action been fully considered?"

POINT:

As President, I will always ensure that Israel has access to the state-of-the-art weapons and technology she needs to defend herself from those who seek her annihilation.

COUNTERPOINT:

As President, I will not sign any bills into law which continue to provide Israel (and Egypt) with the nearly $ 3 billion in aid and military hardware per year which they've been receiving free since Carter was in office. If Israel needs weapons, she can well afford to buy them on the open market, though I would discourage sales by American arms merchants. I think selling weapons is a despicable way to earn a living, and Huckabee as a man of God should also embrace this view.

POINT:

Israel is an important partner in the spread of freedom and democracy throughout the Middle East and the world.

COUNTERPOINT:

I challenge the accuracy of this statement and in fact call it a bald-faced lie. How could Israel possibly assist in any way in the spread of democracy throughout a Middle East which largely despises and distrusts her?

POINT:

To control spending, I believe the President should have the line-item veto.

COUNTERPOINT:

That is highly inappropriate as well as unconstitutional. As your next president, I know that the only way to control spending is to urge my fellow Americans to throw all Dem/Pub congressmen out of office and replace them with independents. That's how we'll control spending.

POINT:

As Governor, I protected gun manufacturers from frivolous law suits.

COUNTERPOINT:

As Governor, how did you do that? And did you happen to obtain campaign contributions as a result?

POINT:

The Second Amendment is primarily about tyranny and self-defense, not hunting. The Founding Fathers wanted us to be able to defend ourselves from our own government, if need be, and from all threats to our lives and property.

COUNTERPOINT:

Well, here's the complete text of the Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

The most prominent reason for embracing "well regulated" state militias was to enable the suppression of local slave rebellions. But Huck, the good Southern Baptist that he is, won't talk about that. He's wrong when he says "The Founding Fathers wanted us to be able to defend ourselves from our own government." The Founding Fathers wanted some way to assure that the states wouldn't be overrun by an increasingly powerful central government. How much the Founding Fathers cared about "the people" is questionable.

Rasmussen Reports

I follow the Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll, which is considered highly reliable. As of today, this is how the GOP race stacks up:

20% in favor of Huckleberry

17%, Giuliani

13%, Romney

13%, McCain

10%, Thompson

...and most important of all: 27%, Other/Undecided

This means that Huck is favored by only one-fifth of those polled, while close to one-third aren't jumping on any bandwagon. However, Huck has surged (and continues surging) rather impressively. Which is why I consider it imperative to scrutinize him as early and loudly as possible.

Steven Searle for US President in 2008

"I ain't no Huckleberry" - Steve

The Best Party Available

bpa_cinc@yahoo.com