I’m not surprised, not even a little bit. Okay, that’s a lie, because I didn’t expect Huckabee to hand Romney a near 10% trouncing like that, but I’m not really surprised that he won. Nor am I surprised that Rudy placed under Ron Paul, since Rudy pretty much abandoned Iowa and New Hampshire to campaign in other states.
With 95 percent of Republican precincts reporting, Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, had the support of 34 percent of voters, compared to 25 percent for Romney. Fred Thompson had 13 percent, McCain had 13 percent and Ron Paul had 10 percent.
Rudy had something like 4%, IIRC.
But what does it all mean? Well, depends on whose campaign we’re talking about here. For Huckabee, it means that his campaign will probably get a decent cash injection heading into New Hampshire and South Carolina. He’s packed an awful lot of momentum on suddenly, which is good because early polls show Romney with a lead in New Hampshire.
Gov. Huckabee’s win hurts Romney the most, because it also represents the fact that the evangelical Republicans are pretty much rejecting him outright for Huckabee. Fred Thompson and John McCain’s campaigns aren’t affected as much as one might think, because a win in Iowa does not mean that one will carry the rest of the primaries.
On the Democrat side, I think my wife had the best comment as to why women voters abandoned Hillary in favor of Obama. She said “It’s Oprah. As soon as she backed Obama openly, it was over.” Cynical as that statement might be, I can’t but help feel like there’s a bit of truth to it.
Back to the Republican race, I really think that coming into Iowa, people were selling Gov. Huckabee short. There are more than a few people who would like to pretend that the Republican party’s base isn’t composed of self described evangelical Christians; people who apparently are (at least in Iowa) going to be voting for Huckabee. Of course, New Hampshire is a different animal entirely from Iowa, and will present a different sort of challenge for Gov. Huckabee to wrest from Romney.
I would have like for Fred Thompson to win, I really would have. I felt like he was the true conservative candidate for the Republican party, but I don’t think that he’s going to pull it out now. I may not agree with all of Gov. Huckabee’s positions, but I do believe that he’s certainly a better option than any of the remaining field of candidates. Romney, Rudy, and McCain all have held positions that I cannot support at all; Huckabee at least seems as though he’s interested in moving forward and not playing partisan politics.
I don’t think it is in the best interest of the United States to have a leader who does not believe in the widely accepted theory of evolution. If he dismisses the overwhelming evidence presented by years of research from the scientific community, who is to say how he’ll treat foreign intelligence. Decisions based on gut and faith make good John Wayne movies, but can be disasterous for foreign policy.
Huckabee said he has no problem with teaching evolution as a theory in the public schools and he doesn’t expect schools to teach creationism.
“We shouldn’t indoctrinate kids in school,” he said. “I wouldn’t want them teaching creationism as if it’s the only thing that they should teach.”
I think it was a huge mistake for Iowa Republicans to go with Huckabee. They really blew it. He isn’t a viable presidential candidate. He won’t be able to handle a national election. Have you noticed how weird he became once the spotlight was actually on him? They should have chosen someone who could actually make it and do well as president, but they didn’t think with their heads, and I think they made this race a lot messier for everyone.
Actually, he seemed pretty poised to me when the spotlight was on him. He did stumble in a few places on his speech, but nothing worse than I’ve seen any other candidate do. He has a lot of poise, and a very easy going speaking style. Aside from his politics, I’d say his biggest problem is that he’s too easy-going, and won’t go for the jugular if it becomes necessary.
I’m more concerned about his way of thinking rather than his stance on what is taught in schools. Whoever is running this country will have at their disposal the best intelligence, weapons, personnel, etc. taxpayer money can buy. It is imperative he or she make the best use of those tools in deciding domestic and foreign policy. Denying the validity of the theory of evolution is to basically ignore many years of research from some very smart people. It just can’t be dismissed without positing significant evidence to the contrary. Huckabee has done so based on his personal belief. While I think faith and conviction are key components in making decisions, it should not be paramount. I fear this guy will either ignore salient facts, or cherry pick information that does not run contrary to his core beliefs.
That would make him pretty much the same as any other politician though.
“That would make him pretty much the same as any other politician though”
Perhaps I hold out hope that the next politician will put just a little more emphasis on what’s good for this country as opposed to what’s good for his respective party or his church. That may be sadly naive, but Mr. Huckabee has already tipped his hand that he has too much religious baggage to handle the complexities of the oval office.
I am impressed that he plays bass guitar.
Well, if Huckabee is as good as his campaign promises, he will put more emphasis on what’s good for the country than on partisan politics. That’s actually one of the messages he keeps repeating is basically “just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean I’m going to try and squash you”.
And I fail to see how “religious baggage” disqualifies someone from handling the complexities of the Oval Office.
Just think like old Kalium, RIP, Xae, HDS, or McClaud of BOB and you might begin to understand why Huk. has “religious baggage.” There’s a certain number of people, who despise any openness concerning religion, and well despise religion in general, and they’re becoming more and more vocal. Its a bit irrational honestly, but I’ve seen it against and again and its becoming more common.
What I find really funny is that they often decry that America seems to only elect people of a “Christian” background, and state that “no atheist could ever be elected.” This then somehow amounts to a Constitutionally banned “religious test to hold office.” Or, this is what they say, what they really mean is that “I don’t want practicing Christians in office.” In other words, they want a religious test, but the religion they want espoused is secularism.
We need to rebrand evolution with a new name: It is now the “Velociraptors Lived” Theory.
The Republicans seem to have more of an opportunity for a “Balanced Ticket” as opposed to the Dems.
“Well, if Huckabee is as good as his campaign promises, he will put more emphasis on what’s good for the country than on partisan politics. That’s actually one of the messages he keeps repeating is basically “just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean I’m going to try and squash you”. ”
Okay. I just think the next president needs to be at the top of their game. and Huckabee, based on some statements he’s made, doesn’t seem to the methodical leader we’re going to need. I think the United States will face some serious threats from Putin’s Russia and possibly China.
Thanks for letting me comment on your blog. I saw the link on CNN and decided to comment without looking at your political orientation.