Watching Huckabee on Morning Joe (MSNBC): tired, quick-witted, good give-and-take...

[CorpGovActivist]

... and damnably likable.

Even with the obvious physical strain of the campaign, the guy is a natural.

Ugh. He's going to be tough in the General.

In PRECISELY the states that have to flip this go-around: the ones that have been trending purplish to blue the last two cycles.

The anger at Bush does not transfer to him. He is a lightning rod, grounding it on contact.

- Dave

[LoveForPeace]

1. He is very good...horrible person, but he has some good lines against people like Romney

"He took the whining and no-whining position today, at least he's consistent"
HAHA

[CorpGovActivist]

3. Honestly, this guy has been on my radar for a while now. Dangerous Dark Horse.

http://www.google.com/search?as_q=corpgovactivist+huckabee&hl=en&num=10&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&cr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=democraticunderground.com&as_rights=&safe=images">Been saying this for a while. Others, too.

- Dave

[bklyncowgirl]

8. He has the art of saying unreasonable things while sounding perfectly reasonable and likeable.

Sort of a folksier version of Ronald Reagan.

Like it or not, many Americans will see the charm and disregard his positions on the issues. Hell, my (apolitical) husband almost considered crossing over and voting for him because he's talking about rebuilding our manufacturing base and seems like a nice guy. My guess is he's got some pretty good teflon too.

I think that the only Republican any Democrat can easily beat is Romney. McCain is dangerous. Huckabee is also dangerous--especially against Clinton.

[CorpGovActivist]

20. Huckabee will have a ticket to ride. First-class or second-class seems to me...

... to be the only remaining question. For the very reasons you so eloquently describe.

:hi:

- Dave

[bklyncowgirl]

42. What's interesting about Huck is that he has positions on some issues that even I kind of like.

OK his fair tax proposal is a crock but on other economic issues--particularly trade--he comes pretty close to sounding like a populist Democrat.

He's amusing as all hell and he is no fool.

I think that the Big Money wing of the GOP will do us a favor and eviscerate him for us but it may not be easy and it certainly won't be pretty.

Unlike other folksy Republican types, he actually seems to believe in his social conservative positions (Doesn't he know that the purpose of a Republican being agains legal abortion is to whip up working class fundamentalists into a pro GOP fervor?) He also appears to be a genuine populist and thus anathema to Big Money.

It's fun to watch the Republicans tear themselves to pieces but I would not like to see a Democrat have to face Huckabee, especially if that Democrat is Hillary Clinton.

[calimary]

38. One of those is this reporter. He's scared me for a long time, too.

He's VERY dangerous, precisely BECAUSE he's so likeable. He's got the "aw-shucks" schtick down. He's got the "reg'lar guy" schtick down. He's the "new-and-improved" edition of "say! I could go have a beer with him". And how did THAT work out for ya over the last seven-or-so years? He's a frickin' Trojan Horse. We dismiss him at our peril.

:scared:

Oddly enough, did you happen to notice that the killer tornados last night ripped through huckabee country? Most of the states he won got smashed. BTW I do not celebrate that, AT ALL. I feel for those poor people. What they endured last night was awful.

Unfortunately, the ordeal facing the rest of us if he wins would be just as bad.

[Maddy McCall]

2. He's not going to make it to the general.

McCain will be the Republican nominee.

[CorpGovActivist]

4. What if McCain picks him for Veep?

He can be parachuted in for pinpoint strikes in the areas where he'll be received like a top tent revivalist / rockstar.

- Dave

[Maddy McCall]

7. Wait and watch. He's not a Republican darling, by any means.

He may play in the deep south, but he won't have much of an effect elsewhere.

[AndyTiedye]

18. McCain Would Not Likely Survive a Term as President. You Know What That Means

President Huckabee

[MadHound]

5. My personal opinion is that Huckabee will continue his southern triumphs,

And come to the convention with a large enough backing to leverage himself into the VP spot on the McCain ticket.

[Radical Activist]

6. Obama would win Utah against Huckabee.

Mormons won't forget how he slimed their religion.

But I don't think there's any chance of Huckabee being the nominee. The Republican establishment doesn't want a true believer.

[AlinPA]

9. He appeals to the flat earthers real well. Good quote by Begala about the slob:

"He doesn't believe in evolution, gravity or photosynthesis".

[fasttense]

10. The bible belt loves him but

the rest of the nation doesn't want the Constitution rewritten to match his interpretation of the bible.

[OneGrassRoot]

11. What's scary is that many people don't know what he stands for...

the Constitution/Bible thing is case in point. Scary shit.

They see this very congenial, "regular" guy who is countering what the other repub candidates are saying, speaking a populist message. I don't think many people investigate beyond that. That's what's scary.

[spinbaby]

12. I do like Huckabee

Just not as president.

[MyNameGoesHere]

13. yes and all the religious code words he used last night

in his speech were subtle but i am sure heard very clearly by the religious right. He is the leader of the USA Taliban for sure.

[radfringe]

14. need to characterize him

as dan quayle with a bible

[jakem]

15. i would have a beer with him-

lets just keep him the hell out of the white house!

[radfringe]

16. based on current delgate counts

if mccain makes a deal with the huckster

all mccain will need to do is pick up 3 of these states - Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania to lock down the nomination

i don't see any of these states moving significantly into the Romney camp, (Mitt-the-twit should quit if you ask me)

so far huckster has basically been sucking up the Romney votes and focusing most of attacks on Romney, if mitt-the-twit quits - wonder if we'll see mccain-huckster mud wrestling or will it be politik-ing for show while they work out a ticket deal behind the scenes

[CorpGovActivist]

33. One simple question for McCain and Huckabee (the pastor in him might feel compelled to truth it up):

"OK. The two of you have not spoken. Are you aware of whether senior staffers in your respective campaigns have coordinate efforts, with an intended goal of boxing out Romney?"

I'd be mighty suprised if that's not precisely the case, given the careful parsing of words out of both candidates.

- Dave

[jeffrey_X]

17. Agreed. I like everything about Huckabee except for his policies and his religious beliefs.

lol

[CorpGovActivist]

32. Seems like a decent guy to jam with on-stage, too...

... and I'll be a wombat's widow, if he doesn't have a natural give-and-take on the talk shows, Letterman, etc.

I mean, this guy would've riffed with the best of 'em back in college, or so it seems to me.

And yet...

- Dave

[Hugabear]

19. He's the evil Gomer Pyle

[CorpGovActivist]

22. Trust me on this one simple, basic rule of politics...

... never, ever, ever trust a man with cheek dimples.

- Dave

P.S. Ever. We will http://patrickj.smugmug.com/gallery/12083#396223-A-LB">pick your ogre's nose, and screw you, too, even if you are The Walt Disney Company. (Um, the ogre needed a "trim," too.) We'll http://patrickj.smugmug.com/gallery/12075#395689">check to see if the droid is bolted down.

P.P.S. Trust me on this. :evilgrin:

[book_worm]

21. I'm afraid your correct he will be very disarming as McCain's VP

[CorpGovActivist]

23. He fills the fault line. He is the KrazyGlue of that Purple Divide.

Oh, yeah. KrazyGlue, indeed.

[AlCzervik]

24. after seeing Haley Barbour last night i think he's the one on the short list.

[CorpGovActivist]

25. The question for McCain is...

... will the Huckabites accept that bait and switch?

I'm skeptical, but Haley might be a grumble-but-take-it option.

:toast:

- Dave

P.S. See? I've got these bastards in my *metaphorical* big guns (gotta be way careful about those metaphors). Pea shot gallery stuff during Democratic primaries is meant to identify and shore up weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

[AlCzervik]

27. McCain needs someone who he perceived as a true conservative in all senses and that isn't Huckabee

plus Huckabee has pissed off many of Romney voters off by staying in. Huckabee will be promised something like HHS chief.

[CorpGovActivist]

28. Could be.

The forces forging GOP nominees are off-kilter this year. They're behaving like - well, almost like Dems.

:scared:

And the temperature in Hell today? Absolute zero.

- Dave

[AlCzervik]

29. plus Barbour has the machine, he's a player and Huckabee, well he's just not.

[CorpGovActivist]

30. I'm tempted to say ...

... something like, "Well, they could always install him in the Solarium as the Nancy Reagan Memorial Keeper of the Hotline to the Universe (and the Stars)," but then http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4432735&mesg_id=4432735">I'd be one helluva hypocrite.

The urge to lampoon him is great. Which is part of what makes him so dangerous. Every joke cracked at his expense feeds the "blowback factor" within his core supporters, spreading outwards to those who only have a passing affinity for him.

- Dave

[Fox Mulder]

26. There's nothing likable about him.

I don't know what you're seeing...

[CorpGovActivist]

31. OK, let's start small.

What about his doughy, dimpled cheeks?

- Dave

[radfringe]

37. he's a cross between

duh-bya (i.e. I'd have a beer with him factor)
quayle (i.e. the cute loveable but clueless sidekick)
with a bible (crayons not included)

[Proud2BAmurkin]

34. I'm not counting him out

[CorpGovActivist]

35. P2BA...

... I know you take a lot of grief for your spirited defense of your candidate. I've chortled, howled, and stamped my feet at some of the stuff you've thrown out there.

You're yammering on your corner of a noisy floor.

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=67894&rendTypeId=4

Me, I'm over here not buying what you're selling.

But you know what? That's OK.

Honestly, my hat is off to you for hawking the wares you got. Peddle it, with no meddling from me.

But fair warning: caveat elector with your candidate.

Obama was right about that datadump dumptruck this morning.

:toast:

- Dave

P.S. I see Huckabee taking Arkansas from the Clintons in the GE.

[madmunchie]

36. I've been watching him for awhile now and I used to wonder why he wasn't doing better

with the Repubs.....

He is not somebody to dismiss lightly. He is extremely likable and is nobody I'd want to be against....even though I am. Huckabee is the real threat. Not that he can be or is even aiming to be in the #1 spot on the ticket...but staying in the race possibly teaming up w/McCain isn't the best news for us.

[CorpGovActivist]

39. If he KrazyGluez together enough of the fault line states...

... in the Upper South, Appalachia, and Border States, it'll spell disaster.

- Dave

[andyrowe]

40. I'm with you on that.

But his past is ugly. Giuliani ugly.

[CorpGovActivist]

41. Coyote ugly.

[radfringe]

43. see:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2828683