Arkansas Blog: Enough Is Enough!

Mike Huckabee has a series of events scheduled for today. Since it was about 15 degrees and I needed to catch up on sleep, I didn't make it up for his 7:15 a.m. run here in Des Moines. But, I did make it to a noontime press event at the downtown Marriott, the city’s largest hotel, where the Governor planned to unveil his closing television ad for the caucus campaign. But, things didn’t work out that way, as he announced he wasn’t going to run the negative ad, after showing it to about 75 national reporters.

With Janet Huckabee standing behind him, Mike Huckabee came into the room and announced that an attack ad on Mitt Romney that his campaign had spent $30,000 producing and was scheduled to begin running at noon throughout Iowa would be pulled down. Huckabee claimed that only minutes before the press conference, he made a personal decision to pull the ad down to change the discourse in American politics. Thus, this was a “different kind of press conference that he originally planned.” Huckabee noted an awareness that the Romney attacks via mail and television were “starting to do damage.” And, thus radio and television attack ads were prepared. Huckabee said that conventional wisdom was that if attacked one should attack back with more venom. But, placing the decision in religious context, Huckabee said: “If you gain the whole world but you lost your soul, is it worth it?”

The potential cynicism in the national press about holding a press conference to show the ad anyway was recognized by Huckabee. But, he claimed that if the press conference had been held and no ad shown that the press would have been dubious whether the ad had ever been produced. Showing its challenges, the Huckabee folks had difficulty getting the sound to work on the ad. [One Nixon era reporter wagged: “He’s going for the Silent Majority vote.”] But, the ad was then run once. Placards in the room supporting the ad’s facts were not removed and one wonders if a soundless ad wouldn’t, indeed, proven that the ad existed but did not move it into the realm of public discourse. Huckabee then took about 25 questions from reporters. Along the way, Huckabee didn’t rule out the use of attack ads in the future, but said that he needed to stay positive if he were to make the point that he could really change Washington. [In this regard, there are odd parallels between the Obama and Huckabee campaigns rhetorically. And, indeed, one reporter last evening meeting a fascinating voter who was undecided between the two very different men.] Huckabee also was not asked whether he denounced his attack ads of the past. One remembers his ad showing an actress dressed as Jimmie Lou Fisher “mudding” on a four-wheeler in the 2002 campaign.

Comments

News Flash!!!
Huckabee maintains the High Road.

Yeah, and I've got a bridge for sale.

Posted by: 70%er | December 31, 2007 01:39 PM

70.....it's more like, Hey everybody! Watch me taking the high road! Look at what I won't put out! Look at it real closely! Look at how good I am and how bad that Mormon Mitt is! But most of all....Look at me taking the high road! This is the modern version of, Are you still beating your wife, Mr. Romney?

Let me know if Huck shows the naked pictures of Mrs. Romney he's refusing to release to the Internet. woo woo!

Posted by: Deathbyinches | December 31, 2007 02:13 PM

DBI, I see you're beaten me to the punch with your post, but here's my thought anyway.

I've been around long enough to learn that every action should be suspect. This is a typical Ed Rollins scheme.

Did some other candidate threaten to air a more damaging exposé about Huck? Quid pro quo? You pull yours, and we'll pull ours -- or vice versa.

Then call a press conference and announce that we're the ones taking the "high ground". "See, watch closely, here's what we're NOT doing: attacking other candidates".

But play the ad anyway just to prove that everyone else is responsible for attack ads -- but the Lord knows we're more principled than they are.

So they one-up any other candidate who might try to trump with a last-minute non-rebutable charge.

Or am I just being an old cynic?

Posted by: Ecce! Spiro et Spero. | December 31, 2007 02:28 PM

Question Jay: Was the ad released to broadcast media for free screening?

Posted by: maxb | December 31, 2007 02:30 PM

What makes Huck's crap so galling is how he's constantly using his God to win votes while constantly denying that he's doing any such thing. (He still refuses to acknowledge the cross in his Christmas ad...HA.) And, the same goes with this ad. He made it, he showed it...and then made a big production about his so-called 'nice' decision. I expect most politicians to act thusly; I don't expect preachers/priests/rabbis/etc. to act like Huck. (His private conversations with his God must be special.) I wonder how long before the MSM begin running the non-ad and inviting Huck on to talk about the righteousness of the non-ad?

Now who sent those false Romney Christmas cards?

Posted by: zelda | December 31, 2007 02:46 PM

I especially like how it was "his campaign" that paid for and produced the ad, subtly denying any personal responsibility for the ad's existence. At times, I think that someone should interview Penn & Teller after every Huck appearance in order to explain all the slight-of-hand tricks that went on.

Posted by: vernal | December 31, 2007 03:19 PM

It is time that the national media wakes up and realizes that the Huckster is taking advantage of them and laughing at them like the slick carny act he is and always has been. Just try and find any media person of substance in Arkansas (sorry, Alice Stewart doesn't qualify) who hasn't gotten tired of his "golly gee" act a long time ago.

The Huckster is the most dangerous demagogue to come along in a long time. It is time the national media stops laughing at his cute stories and quips and starts laughing at him and sends his act home (not that we want him here anymore than anyone else).

Posted by: WildHogDad | December 31, 2007 04:02 PM

I just heard the report on this on NPR, and if the tone of it is typical of what the rest of the press is saying, Huckabee pulled a fairly good trick here. (Yeah, yeah, I don't like him either. When he won his race against Nate Coulter, I said in print the voters must've thought they'd been voting for Huckleberry Hound. That got me a lot of crap from Fayetteville "progressives" who were in bed with the local Republicans, which sick alliance has been the cause for a lot of lying by omission for the last twenty years.)

Posted by: John A Arkansawyer | December 31, 2007 04:19 PM

Arkansas Blog

Enough Is Enough!

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