December 11, 2007
Hotline After Dark -- Crunch Time
'08ers continue to dominate the TV:
Mitt Romney was on the "Evening News" last night:
Asked why he didn't explain the tenants of faith in his speech: "I can't imagine doing that other speech as you're running for president because, what it would do, is it would say if you're running for president you really need to describe your religion in some depth and that would really open the door to the kind of religious test where people would listen and say 'Do I believe that? Do I disagree with that? Does it conform to my own view?' It would say -- we're going to evaluate candidates based on their explanation of their religion and that's precisely what the constitution and the founders said we should not do."
Asked what's wrong with a little religious clarification: "And that's what I think I did. I pointed out and provided answers to the questions I think are appropriate."
Asked about Huckabee's "Christian" TV ads: "People run their own campaigns they way they want to. I do think it's important we don't reject someone from political office based on their faith but also we don't select someone or elect someone merely because of their faith. And I think it's unusual to advertise your faith in your political campaign."
Asked what he thinks of Huckabee's surge: "I watched the surge with interest and there have been several before it. We began with a the McCain surge and we took a closer look and then we moved on. And the reason is when someone surges then comes the close inspection of their record. You know, I'm convinced as people take a good, hard look at Mike Huckabee's record they'll see this is a guy that is soft on criminals, soft on illegal aliens but hard on tax payers and that's not what going lead the Republican Party to take the White House" (CBS, 12/10).
SPEAKING OF MIKE
Mike Huckabee was on "Hannity & Colmes" last night:
On his rising poll numbers: "It seems that the more attacks come, the better the numbers get. So rather than being afraid of them, I probably need to just look at it as the hotter the furnace, the purer the metal gets. And that's seemingly what's happening. But there's an awakening around in this country that I may not be the favorite of the guys on Wall Street or Washington. I know that. I'm not the establishment candidate. But there are a lot of people in this country who want a president who has had the same kind of struggle in life they've had. And they see in me that kind of struggle. They see in me the experience of having been a governor, making tough decisions. And they know a president has to make tough decisions, not just make some speeches."
On the Wayne Dumond case: "A lot of the issues here have been totally distorted. ABC ran a big banner over this story and talked about the pardon. There was never a pardon even considered for this person. So if people will get the facts and the full story, I feel like they'll realize that in government, mistakes are made. Should this guy have been let out in retrospect? No. But at the time, the Parole Board, in making the decision to let him go, felt it was a prudent decision to make."
Huckabee: "If I had acted in my own political interest, do you know how many clemencies I would have given? Zero. Because no governor is ever in trouble for denying one. You only get in trouble for actually granting them. It's part of your job. And if people want a person elected president who looks after his own political interests rather than taking that job seriously and looking at each case with responsibility, I'm sure there's somebody else that will play politics with the lives of other people."
More: "The fact that I'm getting attacked, I think, has just rallied my troops even more, because they recognize that people are attacking for a reason. They're frantic. They're scared. They've spent a hundred times the amount of money I have, and I'm leading them. So why wouldn't they be attacking me? We realize how politics works this way, but I think the average American recognizes that they want a candidate who's for something, not just one who is able to crack the knee caps of his opponent."
On why he changed his position on Cuba: "What changed was I'm running for president. I'm not the governor of just Arkansas. And if I'm the president, I have to be president of the whole country. About a year ago, I met with some members of the Cuban/American community in Miami and became better aware of why lifting the embargo would be a very bad idea as long as Castro or, for that matter, his brother is in power. In 2002, when that letter was written, we were in a recession. National rice markets were depressed. I made trade trips to Taiwan, to Japan, to South Korea as governor to help find open markets for our rice. And so it's a different situation. But more importantly, there's no reason that we should lift that embargo because of the oppressive tyrannical regime of Fidel Castro. And even worse, if his brother should take secession. I recognize this is a position that is best for the United States, even if it's not best for the immediate needs of the rice farmers of my state. That's part of being president. You have to be president of all 50 states" (FNC, 12/10).
SO HAPPY TOGETHER
John Edwards played "Hardball" last night:
MSNBC's Matthews: "You know, you have got Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins. I like both of them as actors. In fact, I really like both of them. They're fabulous actors. But they don't have the star quality of Oprah, do they?"
Edwards: "I don't know. Chris, I'm the one with the star power, not these actors."
Matthews: "You don't need these show business people, is that what you're saying?"
Edwards: "I think it's great to have them, I love having my supporters. I'm sure Barack loves having Oprah. But I think at the end of the day, mostly what they do -- and I heard a little bit of your previous segment -- is they get people there and then we have to make the case as to why they should caucus for us or vote for us. I think that's the bottom line."
More Edwards: "At the end of the day, the last two Democrats that were elected president of the United States they talk like this. ... I think that's a pretty good case to make here in Iowa."
Matthews: "You mean they're southerners?"
Edwards: "What do you think I mean?"
Matthews: "I don't know. You're in a great mood, that's all I can tell you" (MSNBC, 12/10).
THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T BROADCAST THIS ON CNN INTERNATIONAL
Tom Tancredo was on "Out in the Open":
Asked why he wasn't at the Spanish-language debate: "I had more important things to do. I had my grandkids over last night, and I had to fix the train set."
CNN's Sanchez: "You're running for president and now you're making fun of me on national television."
Tancredo: "You do the same thing to me, buddy."
More Tancredo: "We should not be doing anything -- anything -- that encourages the bilingualization of this country and the balkanization of the country based on language. ... This is the United States of America. We speak English. And, if you're going to vote in this election, you're supposed to be -- first of all, if you're here as an immigrant, and becoming a citizen and have become a citizen, you're supposed to, by law, understand English. That's part of becoming a citizen. That's actually part of the law" (CNN, 12/10). [EMILY GOODIN]
Posted at 08:59 AM
Comments
Unless he's got Guatemalan missionaries renting out part of his servants' quarters, Mitt doesn't have "tenants of faith."
Which has nothing whatsoever to do with why he didn't delve into the TENETs of his faith.
Though the reason he gave was excellent, it wasn't the real reason, or he wouldn't even have mentioned the whole "Jesus Christ as Savior" thing.
The real reason is that he only wanted to show an aspect or two that evangelicals would find pleasant, and shut the door to any discussion of the whole "God is a married man from another planet" bit that they might not find quite so acceptable.
NH Dem | 12.11.07 12:54 PM
 |
Post a comment
The Watergate · 600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400 · fax 202-833-8069
NationalJournal.com is an Atlantic Media publication.
