Huck 'n' Chuck
This an actual, no-foolin' ad for Mike Huckabee: Not a YouTube gag, not for cable.
The Huckabee campaign has purchased $60,000 of Iowa airtime to bring the gospel of Chuck Norris to potential caucus-goers. Says Huckabee:
Reaching new voters and reminding folks that politics doesn't have to be a bloodsport were some of our goals for this first ad. Running for President is serious business, but I am not afraid to have some fun while I am doing it.
I know Huckabee has a great sense of humor and some savvy for pop culture, but he's still a conservative ex-pastor whose wife led a campaign against internet predators. And he's appealing to Iowans with an… internet meme that started in 2005. It's not goatse or LOLcats or anything super-obscure, since Norris himself has gone on TV and joked about the facts, but it's really something to hear a presidential candidate say "There's no chin behind Chuck Norris's beard. Only another fist"—and assume that everyone will get it. And if it wasn't for that meme, Norris might be too much of a has-been to be worth playing up in an ad. If Huckabee ran in 2004, would he be appearing with the guy from the Total Gym ads?
Jonathan Martin gets a worthy response from the Fred Thompson team:
With his new campaign ad featuring Chuck Norris, Mike Huckabee has confused celebrity endorsement with serious policy.
You heard it from Fred: Celebrities and serious policy don't mix!