Huckabee Is My Co-Pilot

David Weigel | September 12, 2007

The great Michael Brendan Dougherty spent some time on the trail with surging (if not as much as his Fredness) Republican prez candidate Mike Huckabee. His impression: All those worries about Huckabee's bleeding heart and his disinterest in realpolitik foreign policy are founded. Huckabee is running to be our national life coach.

Huckabee’s policy naiveté, and his willingness to label as “unholy flames of racism” what most see as vigorous and honest disagreement, signal that he is a sort of character wonk—more concerned with the morality of the citizenry than with the laws that govern them. Unlike Obama or Bush before him, Huckabee asks us not only to rise above partisanship but to rise above ourselves.

This is a vision of the executive as “Uplifter in Chief,” the role Huckabee seems most anxious to play: “The president of the United States ought to lead Americans to think the best, be the best and act the best. We ought not pander to the lowest common denominator of thought.” It’s a message alternately inspiring in its aspirations and smug in its condescension.

Dougherty also witnessed Huckabee batting away a question about whether we're turning our presidents into emperors:

“That would be bad”—he pauses for effect—“even if it was me.”

This is sort of interesting. Is there a way to make the president influential, inspirational, and interested in regulating your behavior without putting him above the law? Would Huckabee be satisfied being our national Best Friend without seeking more presidential power?

Comments

Timothy|9.12.07 @ 6:08PM|#

Is there a way to make the president influential, inspirational, and interested in regulating your behavior without putting him above the law? Would Huckabee be satisfied being our national Best Friend without seeking more presidential power?

As near I can tell, no and no. Power, once gained, becomes pretty addictive. It's really too bad Huckabee slimmed down before the being a slovenly, corpulent assmunch caught up with him.

|9.12.07 @ 6:21PM|#

A moralizing president that kept it only at the rhetorical level would not be a bad thing.

|9.12.07 @ 6:25PM|#

As near I can tell, no and no. Power, once gained, becomes pretty addictive. It's really too bad Huckabee slimmed down before the being a slovenly, corpulent assmunch caught up with him.

So the only president you can like is one who is unable to distinguish between law and his opinion or lifestyle?

A libertarian version of that scares the fuck out of me more then Republican Huckabee does....that is if this isn't just rhetoric.

Fluffy|9.12.07 @ 6:34PM|#

I don't heart Huckabee, but the racism thing is a cheap shot.

He didn't say all the people worked up about immigration were racists. He said some of them were. And you know something? Some of them are.

Wayne Dumond|9.12.07 @ 6:44PM|#

Huckabee Is My Co-Pilot

Mine too!

Observing it All|9.12.07 @ 6:50PM|#

"Huckabee is running to be our national life coach."

Good! We need one!

|9.12.07 @ 6:59PM|#

more concerned with the morality of the citizenry than with the laws that govern them.

Perhaps he thinks the two should be coterminous.

"The president of the United States ought to lead Americans to think the best, be the best and act the best. We ought not pander to the lowest common denominator of thought."

If "leadership" and "setting a good example" fail to produce the desired thought, essence, and action, these types tend to turn to the brute force of the law to get results.

TLB|9.12.07 @ 7:00PM|#

Fluffy: Now, here's the (partial) backstory:

brownbacker.com/?p=172

There's more, but I bet it's got chicken grease all over it.

|9.12.07 @ 7:27PM|#

Oh, look... An actual Brownback supporter! Or is it just campaign staff?

Okay, sorry... I couldn't resist.

|9.12.07 @ 7:43PM|#

I wonder if Huckabee will still drop out before the primaries. I heard before the last debate, he was running out of money, so I wonder if his uptick in the polls actually netted him any money...if not...

|9.12.07 @ 7:51PM|#

Is there a way to make the president influential, inspirational, and interested in regulating your behavior without putting him above the law?

I've always been an advocate of "lead by example." But considering the willingness to pull out racism as the go-to trump card, Huckabee seems ill-qualified.

|9.12.07 @ 7:53PM|#

A moralizing president that kept it only at the rhetorical level would not be a bad thing.

A flying pony would not be a bad thing either.

Franklin Harris|9.12.07 @ 7:56PM|#

"Huckabee is running to be our national life coach."

Maybe my analysis equating empty-suit Fred with empty-suit Obama was too hasty. Huckabee the life coach sounds a lot like Obama the self-help motivational speaker.

ed|9.12.07 @ 7:57PM|#

I wonder if any one of those Founders who found his way to the presidency ever considered himself the "Uplifter in Chief." I doubt it. Well, maybe Adams did.
But John Adams was ten times the worth of any modern candidate.
In less than fourteen months we'll be electing the world's tallest midget.

|9.12.07 @ 7:57PM|#

Brownback is one of those words that sounds like it should be dirty, but isn't.

|9.12.07 @ 7:58PM|#

A moralizing president that kept it only at the rhetorical level would not be a bad thing.

I'd prefer a president who acts morally and doesn't moralize.

rho|9.12.07 @ 9:32PM|#

I dunno, Huckabee doesn't bother me that much. I pretty much like all of the second-tier candidates more than the first-tier. They have much more motivation to speak their mind, for instance, and that's a lot better than the ballot-box chameleons who are currently in the running to be leader of the Last Superpower On Earth.

Ray G|9.12.07 @ 9:38PM|#

Some radio commentator this morning laid out a nice example along these lines.

One presidential candidate portrays himself as a born again Christian, referencing a few of the top selling books that born-again types love, he has been married to the same woman all of his adult life, goes to a Baptist church every weekend. Et cetera.

The other candidate professes none of the Christian stuff, though he is not outwardly anti-Christian or anti-religious. He has been married more than once, his adult children are a bit of a mess, and does not attend church on a regular basis.

The voter that must vote along values lines would have voted for the first candidate.


The first candidate however was Jimmy Carter, and the second of course was Ronald Reagan.

|9.13.07 @ 1:04AM|#

"Would Huckabee be satisfied being our national Best Friend without seeking more presidential power?"

Don't forget about the lunatic in the VP office seeking more power for himself.

Timothy|9.13.07 @ 1:29AM|#

So the only president you can like is one who is unable to distinguish between law and his opinion or lifestyle?

Oh josh, it's really terrible that you couldn't stay hooked on phonics. I was answering Weigel's last couple of questions, both in the negative.

The answer to this:

Is there a way to make the president influential, inspirational, and interested in regulating your behavior without putting him above the law?

Is no, no there isn't.

Also, the answer to this:

Would Huckabee be satisfied being our national Best Friend without seeking more presidential power?

Is also no, because having such power available tends to temp those wishing to control us to use it. As in: Huckabee would turn out to be a power-hungry nannystater of the worst order and it's a fucking shame he didn't die from fat before he had the opportunity to run for president.

|9.13.07 @ 8:23AM|#

Joe writes: Brownback is one of those words that sounds like it should be dirty, but isn't.

... are you sure? Because if it refers to the proto-fascist running for President, I'm pretty sure that's a bad word, too.

|9.13.07 @ 8:50AM|#

Is there a way to make the President our national life coach without giving him power? Two ways -

Make him First Gentleman rather than President -
Or make him King. In the modern British and Japanese sense.

Other than that, I'd suggest he try for Billy Graham's niche rather than Dubya's.

|9.13.07 @ 10:53AM|#

Huckabee and his moral/therapeutic crapola remind me a lot of Candidate Bush in 2000. Compassionate Conservatism = liberal nanny-statism with the addition of a stern lecture.

|9.13.07 @ 12:51PM|#

Who in their right might would want to elect a second President from the 49th ranking state in the union?

I should watch how I phrase that, I'm from that state. But I wouldn't run for President.

|9.13.07 @ 12:51PM|#

Geezzzz

Who in their right mind....

|9.13.07 @ 4:39PM|#

Is there a way to make the president influential, inspirational, and interested in regulating your behavior without putting him above the law?

Libertarian Republican Mark Sanford, the Governor of South Carolina, is arguably an example of such behavior personified. Instead of paying close attention to the intricacies of legislative maneuvering, he encourages the fatback-feasting obeseniks in South Carolina to get off their double-wide dixie asses and join him on hundreds of miles of bike tours around the Palmetto State...

Gary|9.22.07 @ 3:21AM|#

That's because INDOCTRINATING the public with religion -- while personally repudiating it -- a core part of neo-conservative "philosophy", i.e. Leo Strauss. I'm not saying Reagan followed Strauss, cause Reagan was a moron -- even Thatcher thought so -- but Reagan's team included Machiavellian followers of Strauss.

They also know, and state, that religious indoctrination of society is essential to a War State, because soldiers must feel that they are risking their lives for an eternal reward, not for a few selfish elites.

You might call this the Jihad Warrior principle.

Reagan's anti-communist "freedom" rhetoric served as a PR front for the World Anti-Communist League, a partly underground relic of Euro fascists and other Asian fascists. WACL not only backed the Contras, it also supported Islamic fascists (freedom fighters), like the Afghan Muj and their Saudi leader Osama Bin Laden. There were THREE Afghan support PR pressure groups housed in the Heritage Foundation. The Christian Coalition also strongly endorsed the Islamo-fascists, and denounced any in Congress who opposed them.

I have their names listed on my proterrorism webpage.