Debates
Ironically enough, tonight's Republican YouTube Debate was the first debate I've watched at least half of so far. While it mostly reaffirms why I won't be voting for any one of these guys, I decided I kinda like Mike Huckabee. There's something about him that's different from the seven others on the stage and it's quite appealing. He's calm and smart. His answers are professional and thoughtful, and dare I say, real. He answered the first question on immigration with class and smarts, despite how it really didn't fit into the classic Republican anti-immigrant campaign. He defended his policy on granting children of illegal immigrants the same rights to qualify for merit scholarships as citizens with grace and honesty. His answer on the death penalty was moving- though he didn't address the reality of faulty convictions and the current Supreme Court halt on executions. (On the other hand, that comment on putting Hillary on the first rocket to Mars was a little tasteless; yes, everyone else had to mention her, but he was doing just fine without it.)
Don't get me wrong- I wouldn't vote for him. He's super conservative and I disagree with him on many things. But if he got the Republican nomination, I can somehow envision a true shift in national conversation on who should be our next president. His style would dramatically alter the politics and campaigning that we are used to. Perhaps it would be something truly worth tuning in for.
Don't get me wrong- I wouldn't vote for him. He's super conservative and I disagree with him on many things. But if he got the Republican nomination, I can somehow envision a true shift in national conversation on who should be our next president. His style would dramatically alter the politics and campaigning that we are used to. Perhaps it would be something truly worth tuning in for.
Labels: politics
posted by elanit | 9:53 PM
2 Comments:
I like Huckabee a lot too - he's my type of Republican (social conservative, fiscal moderate). I like the fact that his faith is one of the things which impells him to attempt to help the poor.
I was listening to NPR late one evening on a drive to somewhere, and heard an interview with Huckabee. Now, mind you, I am uber-left lib, and disagree with him on a number of things. But there was something in his manner, the way he spoke to people and about them, that really appealed to me. He was not pretentious, he didn't sound like he was "spinning" anything, and he wasn't quick to judge people (at least not in this interview), which I almost never find to be true when listening to a Republican candidate. He was talking about how he used to be a preacher (or minister?) and how he had an opportunity to learn a lot about people, and he saw all the hardships people go through in their lives... and I do think that had some sort of good impact on him. I mean, can you imagine Romney or Guliani actively listening to anyone and using I-statements? I don't think so.
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