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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2008 > September > 11 > Entry
Huckabee for, uh, commentator
Watching the Republicans descend to exceptional lows the other day with their shameless nonsense about lipstick and pigs, I found myself wondering whether there comes a point in their descent at which even some Republicans might take offense — and say so publicly.
Isn’t there ANYBODY in the party who is embarrassed and distressed to see what has become of John McCain?
Then I slapped myself in the face and told me to get real. This is politics. Who is right and who is wrong has nothing to do with who is right and who is wrong. It’s about which side you’re on.
So let’s give a cheer for Mike Huckabee.
On Fox, he said that the Obama statement about pigs and lipstick was harmless and not relevant to the campaign. He said, “It’s just an expression.”
On the same day, he sent out a message to supporters saying the same thing: “Almost twenty four hours into this new controversy, and the accusations are continuing to fly from both campaigns. That’s too bad. Let’s shift back to the issues.”
He says Republicans should be “trumpeting” their views on energy, health care, education and more.
“A return to the issues is what the American people expect,” he wrote, “and it is a mistake to think that our Republican ideas somehow can’t compete with the Democrats. And frankly, if anyone tells you otherwise, that dog won’t hunt.”
Dog?
Oh, well, let’s move on.
(As for Huckabee’s hugely wrong statement at the Republican Convention that Sarah Palin got more votes for mayor than Joe Biden got for president, let’s assume — in the spirit of this fleeting moment — that he was just kidding.)
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: National Politics
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By TRS
September 11, 2008 11:39 PM | Link to this
Got to admit - I thought it was kind of stupid myself. But then, how many times has Senator Obama misconstrued McCain’s statement about being in Iraq for 100 years. Now that all is even, lets stop the silliness.
By Darrin
September 12, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this
Was the comment a big deal in reality? Nah…not really…was it a mature comment to make on Obama’s part…no, not really again…but still no big deal…unless a Republican would have uttered it about Hillary (no cow reference intended)…of course if that would have happened - any good DNC soldier would have jumped harder on the opportunity calling for apologies and resignations. We’ve seen enough examples of that through the years…and naturally the faux-journalists out there would have been happy to join in. I say to everyone - including or especially to the media that let’s care a lot less 6th grade tactics.
By Roger
September 12, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this
From the way Huckabee has spoken in the past, I would deduce that he was indeed using hyperbole to make fun of the fact that Joe Biden didn’t do well in the his short run for the presidency. By literal numbers, it is apparent that Biden in fact got more actual votes running for president than Palin running for Mayor. However, when comparing the percentage of the votes, Palin is a clear winner with a larger percentage. Palin received 909 votes in her 1999 race for Mayor of Wasilla. The town has a population of 7,025. Thus she garnered 12.9% of the vote from the entire population. Naturally, the voting age population is much smaller, which would make her percentage, much higher in reality. Joe Biden received 79,754 votes in his race for the presidency. The U.S. voting age population is 215,694,000. Thus he garnered 0.03% of the voting age population vote. The total population of the U.S. is naturally much higher, and if figured in would give him a much lower percentage. So, even by giving him the mathematical benefit of the doubt above, you can clearly see that Sarah Palin’s success at the polls was in fact much better than Joe Biden’s. Score one for Huckabee!
By wapeSwevara
June 11, 2011 5:04 AM | Link to this
Very informative post. Thanks for taking the time to share your view with us.