The way I see it, Huck didn’t say with finality that he doesn’t support the surge, he said that he’s not sure – IF the Guard and Reserves don’t have the ability to handle it.

I mean, I realize some people here aren’t fans of Huckabee, but come on. If ya wanna bash him at least bash him for stuff that isn’t contrived and senseless.

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=2

He talked the talk, but he acted like he really wasn’t interested in it. Of course, when he was able to get snarkyt, he pepped up a bit. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I did get that impression.

He seemed quite civil. His interaction with Obamination looked pretty friendly. But I think he has a “silly Democrap rule” he didn’t want to violate.

wccawa on January 6, 2008 at 1:08 PM

I agree. When they first came out he was all smiles. At 0:15 he’s extending his hand to Richardson. Behind him was Hillary, and I assume he did likewise with her. At 0:27 you can see him in the background manuevering himself either toward Obama or away from Ron Paul. At 0:35 he’s heading looking eager to shake someone’s hand. At 00:45, he’s chatting with Obama. Then later, 1:00, he’s just standing and staring over everyone’s head. By the end 1:32, I dont see him on stage. I do notice he was fine in the back row. Not one did he try to step in the front for the crowd to better see him like Hillary and Rudy did.

Photo 2: sHill to Giuliani: “Womanizing @$$wipe”
Giuliani to sHill: “Cold-hearted B*tch”

Photo 3: “Well, it feels like a boy to me, Huck. When are you due?”

Photo 4: sHill to McCain: “I’ll have you my pretty, and your little friend, too!”

Photo 5: “Ron! Dude! You are so awesomely awesome that your awesomeness can’t be described. But don’t tell Fred I said that. I’d hate to see him gut you where you stand. You know, ‘kill the messenger’ and all that…”

geminicontender on January 7, 2008 at 10:30 AM

No one reads comments that are all cap locked or all bold. Just for future reference.

#3 {banjo music playing in the back ground}

silky : I’m gonna make you squeal like a pig. Weeeeeeee!

Huckster:Weee!

silky: Weeeeeeee!

Huckster:Weee!

Mojack420 on January 6, 2008 at 4:38 PM

ROTFL!

“He’s amassed a rogues’ gallery of troublemaking former pals – Keating, Gary Hart, John Tower, Fife Symington, Duke Tully – who hardly square with his ambitions as a reformer.”

“He prides himself on his personal integrity yet admits he wasn’t faithful to his first wife, Carol, who was injured in a horrific car accident while McCain was in Vietnam.”

“While at the Naval Academy, McCain let some subjects slide, spending his time reading history and literature and, of course, howling at the moon. He graduated fifth from the bottom of his class.”

Notice that Fred isn’t shown in the hug fest. He’s the smart one.

Aggie85 on January 5, 2008 at 9:58 PM

I noticed this also. I think it just shows how much he is not a part of the “establishment” that he is not cavorting with and gladhanding the enemy.

He opposes them and what they are doing, and has come to the realization that you can’t be half way intelligent and not know that these people are traitors.

The other RINO’s on the stage are able to gladhand the enemy because they are part and parcel with them.

csdeven on January 6, 2008 at 4:52 PM

Yes I think he can, Rudy might take cal, Mclame has no chance in hell of getting cal the cal GOP knows he is a rhino. But with all the southern states coming up on Super Tuesday I think he can peal those voters away from the open boarder shill huckaboo. Especially ok ga and ar that all have placed new laws cracking down on illegals.
I think we might actually get to the convention with out any clear winner .

Michael in MI on January 6, 2008 at 3:31 PM

I understood your point and it seems logical. Fred has admitted he is almost broke and the other candidates are not going to cruise into SC because they don’t feel Fred is a threat. Romney will be in until at least Super Tuesday and will be spending tons of cash in SC. Huck will go for broke and McCain has to make a run at it. Can Fred compete with that kind of money being spread around especially when he has lost every single state up to then?

FloatingRock on January 6, 2008 at 1:06 PM

I was responding to this that I took to mean that Fred was being cranky and refusing to be civil. Perhaps I was wrong, but it seemed that is what he meant.

You do not see Fred hugging, engaged in conversations with the opponents, or presenting any kind of chance for a photo op like all the other candidates did.

Sometimes, arguments about whether someone supported illegal alien “amnesty” miss the point. A scene from last night’s Republican debate gives a good illustration of this….

Romney did not help himself at one point, giving his opponents fodder to criticize him over the health care plan he signed into law as governor; it required residents to get health insurance. “I like mandates. The mandates work,” Romney said. Thompson did a double-take: “I beg your pardon? I didn’t know you were going to admit that. You like mandates.”

bnelson44 on January 6, 2008 at 2:52 PM

See, I disagree with this. Fred thinks that “mandate” is a bad word just in and of itself and tried to play on that. He doesn’t understand (or doesn’t care) how the mandate works in the system.

We didn’t get to socialized medicine overnight and we aren’t going to back out of it overnight. Instead of people walking into hospitals getting free care at a huge expense to the taxpayers, the state uses that money to help move people toward the free market system.

So yes, mandates are good IN THAT PROGRAM, and Fred acting like they aren’t was either disingenuous or he simply just doesn’t understand the complexities of the program.

silky : I’m gonna make you squeal like a pig. Weeeeeeee!

Huckster:Weee!

silky: Weeeeeeee!

Huckster:Weee!

…he may be just sitting to the side while the Republican base runs back and forth, back and forth between CINO to CINO to CINO, with the blowing of the political winds and polling and debates and news articles and attack ads.

Maybe the ’slow and steady wins the race’ method.

Michael in MI on January 6, 2008 at 2:59 PM

To expand on this, if you think about it in general labeling terms, we have:

Mitt is being painted as the flip-flopper
McCain is being painted as the Amnesty candidate and the anti-Conservative candidate
Huckabee is being painted as the Christian candidate who is supposed to appeal to Christian conservatives… until they find out about his actual record, then things may change.

So if Fred can sit back and let the other candidates attack one another and eliminate each other, that leaves Fred and Rudy to duke it out come South Carolina and Super Tuesday.

That’s a great strategy for both Rudy and Fred I think… allowing the other candidates to take each other out and leave Fred and Rudy as the last men standing.

And consider this. I don’t know how old Rudy is, but imagine a Thompson/Giuliani ticket. Giuliani wouldn’t really affect any of Thompson’s conservative agenda as President, but he would be a great spokesman about The Long War and the economy, as Cheney has served to be for President Bush.

A true friend becomes known in love, disposition, speeches and deeds.

Huck and McCain’s strategy- attack-attack-attack-deny-deny-deny, smile-smile-smile-look at each other to see if the other is laughing.

DfDeportation on January 6, 2008 at 2:53 PM

Mitt has been spending millions of dollars on attack ads in recent days. He can afford to and I don’t deny that he has every right to. If Mitt fans prefer to use a PC term like “difference-adds”, or whatever they’re calling them, it doesn’t matter to me.

But to pretend that Mitt’s difference-adds are OK because they point out legitimate flaws in his opponents records but then turn around and deny the other candidates the same right to point out Mitt’s flaws during the debate is unreasonable, IMO.

Mitt’s record is every bit as deserving of scrutiny by the other candidates as their candidates have been scrutinized by Mitt. The debates help level the playing field and allow the other candidates that don’t have as deep of pockets as Mitt to get their hits in as well.

McCain’s joke about Mitt being the candidate of “change” was fair game, IMO, even if in somewhat bad taste, but where McCain really went over the line is when he attacked Mitt for truthfully revealing McCain’s support of amnesty. McCain can lie all he wants and pretend he didn’t support amnesty, but when he then projects his lie outward and unjustly attacked Mitt, I thought that was a low-blow unbecoming of a presidential candidate.

It wasn’t as offensive to me as McCain’s amnesty-attack against Mitt, but I had to laugh at the irony when flip-flopper Huckabee made his, “which position?” remark, alluding to Mitt’s flip-floppery.

Romney did not help himself at one point, giving his opponents fodder to criticize him over the health care plan he signed into law as governor; it required residents to get health insurance. “I like mandates. The mandates work,” Romney said. Thompson did a double-take: “I beg your pardon? I didn’t know you were going to admit that. You like mandates.”

bnelson44 on January 6, 2008 at 2:52 PM

I was hoping to see that in the highlights.