Huckabee: "Jesus was too smart to run for office"

[derdy]

I may be in the minority here, but this folksy crap from Huckabee really just rubs me the wrong way.

I really can't STAND the way he talks! It's so polished, plastic, and fake to me.

 

[matteh]

the question about jesus and the death penalty was especially nauseating in my opinion. the guy who asked the question was undeniable creepy too.

 

[JayDee]

Ever heard of the Old Testament? He also tells people to follow his commandments otherwise they'll get punished in the 2nd life.

Thats right, second life.. not this life. (although the Old Testament is somewhat more barbaric, Jesus is the new covenant)

 

[jacmicwag]

Huck is one of those people who piss you off because everyone likes him for some reason. He could be selling time shares and still get a ton of votes. In the long run, his coming up will help us even though it is hard to swallow at the moment.

 

[user]

It's messed up how he purposely switches to that sanctimonious tone when he gets all preachy.

 

[F3d]

....

 

[Chad]

...

 

[JohnM]

exactly. the response sounds clever but is in fact stupid. do you wanna be like jesus or not? if not, why not? if yes, why do something he would consider stupid?

You're taking the joke too seriously. Surely Huckabee was gently poking fun at himself, and saying "I must be dumb to do this".

That sort of humor goes down well with a lot of voters.

 

[SovereignMN]

I am a Christian and I support capital punishment.

 

[partypooper]

You're taking the joke too seriously. Surely Huckabee was gently poking fun at himself, and saying "I must be dumb to do this".

That sort of humor goes down well with a lot of voters.

i know it goes well but it is nevertheless stupid. and yes, i take it seriously because it replaced the answer to the question.

 

[Melissa]

Yes but wasnt the question something about Jesus supporting capital punishment and I would find it very wild if any would think Jesus would say Capital Punishment is ok

 

[partypooper]

that is - presumably - why the question was asked. huck's support of CP is in tension with his christianity and he was supposed to say why is it still ok for him to support CP.

he replaced the answer to this question with an answer to a different question - whether jesus would think one should run for office. and then he admitted he wouldn't! so in a sense this was even worse than if he answered the first question by admitting that he was doing something that jesus wouldn't do. yet he got away with it because it was "so funny". boy, people are so dumb.

 

[JohnM]

In defense of Huckabee (hey, we Ron Paul supporters are fair-minded people ), I think he was basically saying that Jesus Christ was not involved in earthly politics and stayed out of the political arguments of his day.

There were a lot of religious people getting involved in political disputes back then, but Jesus didn't - basically keeping himself aloof from issues that were, in the end of the day, of this world. (Hence his answer to Pontius Pilate in John 18:36)

There was no debate about capital punishment in Jesus' day, and if there had been, one suspects that he would have refused to get involved in it.

So my take on this is that while on one level, Huckabee was ducking the question, on another level, it was actually as stupid a question as question 19 ("Do you believe every word in the Bible?") and that Huckabee gave a very good answer - better, in fact than his answer to question 19.

 

[KingTheoden]

I thought it was a pretty dumb answer, particularly for someone who claims to be such a pious follower of Christ. I do not approve of the death penalty precisely because of the New Testament; a government cannot be empowered with the ability to execute if for no other reason because Man is corruptible and such a power would have such dire implications.

The Huckster uses humor to charm and seduce. Don't fall under his spell.

 

[Daveforliberty]

The Huckster uses humor to charm and seduce. Don't fall under his spell.

In my mind, this is exactly correct. His words don't make sense under careful scrutiny. He rarely directly answers a question. There's always a joke or a platitude first. His words are a sedative, designed to soothe, calm, and control.

In one regard I think he's smart. He stays out of the fray as much as possible and then seems to voters (who aren't really questioning what he is saying and why) to step in and offer the soothing voice of reason.

But what makes this so nefarious is that it is a calculated thing. The staying out of the fray, the easy-going manner, the jokes, are Huck's schtick. It is completely insincere and although his platitudes may seem a mile wide, they're an inch deep.

Huck is dangerous becasue of this. While the other candidates hurl mud, he shows the audience a puppy, and they all go "Ahhhhhhhh..."

 

[Andrew76]

ugh. It's that kind of answer which truly bothers me about Huckabee. I'm no Bible expert but one quote comes to mind; "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Instead of dealing with serious issues, the guy just makes some joke out of the entire thing and gets away with it with applause and everybody thinking he's got some great personality.

Same thing about Mars; he didn't state any position- just made fun of Hillary Clinton. I didn't want to watch improv comedy.... I actually wanted to see a debate.

Agreed. The answer was a total dodge, and was a "good answer," in as much as it was a clever way to completely dodge the questions. If Anderson Cooper had any balls whatsoever, he'd of waited till the laughter subsided, then said, "Hehehe... Ok though seriously, you haven't answered the question. Will you answer it?"

Anderson Cooper = worst. moderator. ever. Any problems with this "debate" can be directly traced back to him. When in someone's question they say, "..and this question is for all the candidates," where I come from, that means everyone. Not f*cking two of them. How is it not completely obvious that Ron Paul was set up to look bad. If it smells like sh*t, looks like sh*t, and sounds like sh*t, it's probably.....


Huckabee is a joke with all his good feelin' down home-isms. "It's like my old pastor used ta' say! blah blah blargity blargh!..." Puhleeeze, you can't even remember the dudes name. I feel like I'm watching the freaking Dukes of Hazard. "Hey y'all, can I get an amen for a Huckabee, Roscoe P. Coltrane ticket! Whoooooeeeeee!!"

 

[Andrew76]

In defense of Huckabee (hey, we Ron Paul supporters are fair-minded people ), I think he was basically saying that Jesus Christ was not involved in earthly politics and stayed out of the political arguments of his day.

There were a lot of religious people getting involved in political disputes back then, but Jesus didn't - basically keeping himself aloof from issues that were, in the end of the day, of this world. (Hence his answer to Pontius Pilate in John 18:36)

There was no debate about capital punishment in Jesus' day, and if there had been, one suspects that he would have refused to get involved in it.

So my take on this is that while on one level, Huckabee was ducking the question, on another level, it was actually as stupid a question as question 19 ("Do you believe every word in the Bible?") and that Huckabee gave a very good answer - better, in fact than his answer to question 19.

I'd agree that his response to the "every word in the bible," question was fair. But as to Jesus not getting involved in politics.... Yeah, he didn't run for prez, and wouldn't most likely. But to say he wasn't vicariously involved in politics at all, is entirely untrue. What he did and said had serious political consequences, to say the least! But the bible, as to it's moral prescriptions does not equivocate. Jesus was a jew, and the ten commandments of the old testament are infallible to all true believers.
I should note that I'm not christian. However, it irks me to no end when some christians cherry pick beliefs here and there from the bible. Again, I'm not christian, but how much more clear could you word, "Thou shalt not kill." Where in the world is the argument for "interpretation," of such a statement?

 

[Blowback]

Huck must have played a lot of basketball to lsoe weight... he's got the shake and bake down cold

 

[c0unterph0bia]

It wouldn't bother me so much if he didn't talk like a preacher the entire time.

 

[ChickenHawk]

"Thou shall not kill" is not the best translation. "Thou shall not murder" is a more accurate one. If you read the whole Bible there is clearly some killing that is not forbidden.