Huckabee, The GOP's Edwards By: Mark W Adams

David Sirota noted that Governor Mike Huckabee is the only candidate other than Edwards in the 2008 presidential race running explicitly on economic populist themes.

Mind you, he's still a Republican, and no matter how authentic he might be, I firmly believe the world will be a much better place if his friends spend a generation or two wandering in the wilderness. But that observation, coupled with the new interest in his campaign since his strong showing in the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll made me pay more than the usual attention to yet another comment by yet another conservative presidential aspirant commenting on the Clintons' personal life -- especially since it sounded much more forgiving than anything I've heard from the right side of the aisle since 1996.

"But they kept their marriage together. And a lot of the Republicans who have condemned them and talk about their platform of family values, interestingly, didn’t keep their own families together." -- Mike Huckabee, quoted by NPR, praising Bill and Hillary Clinton. (via Political Wire)

Mike, it's not just Republicans who think the Bill and Hillary's marriage is fair game. Maybe he didn't catch this catty quote from Michelle Obama.

Our view is that if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House,” Mrs. Obama said.

As I recall, noting the relative peace and prosperity of the 1990's, the Clintons did a decent job running the White House despite the constant harassment from people spewing exactly that kind of nonsense the First Couple's way, let alone the disorder, pain and humiliation "Teh Clenis" must have caused them on a personal level.

That, sadly, is in a nutshell why John Edwards is the guy for me. I can't stomach any more hate-filled invectives hurled towards Bill and Hill, and the eagerness with which Barack (and now Michelle) Obama embrace GOP framing and tactics is repulsive.

Not to mention I'm one of those economic populists kinda guys. If this thing should by some twist of fate end up a contest between Obama and Huckabee, I'm going to have a real problem choosing. A Republican who seems sincere and wants to speak for the little guy without sounding like a butthead, or a naive Democratic compromiser who refuses to do what must be done to the GOP -- bury it. Yikes.