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!