The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Friday that GOP nominee John McCain should have opposed the federal financial bailout.
McCain should have stood against the bailout for two reasons, Huckabee told The Virginian-Pilot: It would have been the right thing to do, and it would have distinguished him from Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
"I still think it's the dumbest thing Congress has done in a long time," Huckabee said.
Huckabee came to Hampton Roads to be part of Regent University's Clash of the Titans debate, which pit Republican political experts against top Democrats.
The former Arkansas governor said it would be "easy to second-guess somebody else's campaign, and Lord knows a lot of people have second-guessed mine," but he added that McCain has struggled to lay out a "clear, distinct and focused message."
Huckabee was governor of Arkansas for 11 years and is now a commentator for Fox News. He is known for having lost 110 pounds and for his sharp wit. He said his breakdown of McCain's effort should be weighed against the outcome of the GOP campaign.
"If I was that good," Huckabee noted, "I would have been the nominee."
Huckabee walked into a back room at Regent's communications building seeming almost winded from his trip, which he said was delayed at the Atlanta airport. He took a seat and sat back.
"I'm going to put my feet up and take a nap," he said. "You'll probably get better answers that way."
At this late stage of the presidential campaign, he said, McCain needs to make a strong push toward the finish, because there's always the chance that something could happen that would change the direction of voters' thinking.
Asked which major issues have been ignored in the campaign because of the focus on the economy, Huckabee quipped, "Most of them." He noted that in the Republican debates, the focus was on the Iraq war and immigration, two issues hardly being discussed now. During those debates, there was only one question on education and one on health care, he said.
"It's unfortunate when the campaign gets down to a race to the bottom to see who can hammer the opponent," Huckabee said.
Even now, he said, the root forces that drove the economic crisis are not being discussed: greed and "uncontrollable corporate boards that allow these guys to run away with multimillion-dollar bonuses."
"Their boards had a responsibility to govern," he said, "and they didn't."
Huckabee would not say whether he would again run for the Republican nomination in four years. Timing and opportunity are everything in politics, he said, and it was too soon to tell.
"I'm not ruling it out," Huckabee said, "but I'm certainly not forming a committee either."
Lon Wagner, (757) 446-2341, lon.wagner@pilotonline.com
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respect, craig?
You don't even spell my name correctly. Let us know when you practice what you preach. It'll be something new for us to marvel at.
the facts still remain
John McCain will continue the same politics as George Bush, and if left up to him we will be in 2 wars by next year this time, and deeper in debt.
Twist it any way you like, but we cannot afford 4 more years of George Bush. That and the diva Sarah Palin as potential president are reasons enough not to vote for McCain/Palin.
Kieth
Granted Senator McCain was in "agreement" with President Bush 90% of the time as per Senator McCain’s roll call votes. What were these votes, Kieth? Importsant as well as mundane, weren’t they?
Now, when “I” had taken the time (my own time) and matched President Bush’s desires/wants/wishes to Congress’s voting record-I tabulated somewhere between 80-85 percent of the time these two Americans were in agreement..
Also, had you gone several posts up from what you had clipped- roughly an hour later-you would have been able to determine that. But alas, you hadn’t.
I tend use their title/office respectfully. Regardless of party, liking or disliking the individual. Why don’t you?
craig
You said flat out: "The facts I know are that Senator McCain has voted with President Bush roughly 80% of the time since he’s been in office"
No conditions. No vagueness whatsoever. Research here shows that you now blather on with various numbers and conditions. You just make up facts and when challenged on them, you get quite verbose..
You're correct. "My recommendation is to not swallow “hook, line, or sinker” what you hear or see." No one should believe what you say when you have to condition it afterwards.
Read and heed
Either Mark Twain or Benjamin Disraeli stated “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics”.
Regardless of what you may have read anywhere on the internet, received by snail or e-mail, or heard on any media, take the time to figure it out for yourself.
As for my posts, if you don’t like my numbers/determinations, well that’s your call.
My recommendation is to not swallow “hook, line, or sinker” what you hear or see.
Somewhere between each political party’s statements resides the truth. It is not one sided as the media would have you believe
The point is that each of us individuals must prove to ourselves what is actual, vice what a two dimensional or frequency/amplitude modulated voice said it is.
john mccain isn't the only hothead in the family
Read the pilot article about his brother Joe McCain and his hothead issues.
Bailout
The so-called bailout hasn't helped anyone but the banks. The banks got us in this mess. The banks were making Billions when things were good. The banks give you a credit card with 23% interest and savings account with 1%. They charge you $35 when you don't have enough $$$ in your account. Why should we feel sorry for them? The government should have loaned "our" money back to the people who need it. Look at every big city and you will notice the name of banks and insurance companies on top of most of the buildings.
craig says: "we need to know what..."?
You said flat out: "The facts I know are that Senator McCain has voted with President Bush roughly 80% of the time since he’s been in office"
Now you come up with a multitude of numbers. Quite a set of facts that you use to make excuses.
The voting percentage from the House...
Doing some reasearch, the voting tally of each candidate you will fine that……… Senator McCain has vote less percentage of the time along party lines compared to Senator Obama’s 96%. It doesn’t take any brain power to push the party line button, it’s very non committal and you always have a political excuse. Get your fact straight. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Representing: Illinois , Voted with Democratic Party: 96.0 percent of 352 votes. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Representing: Arizona, Voted with Republican Party: 88.1 percent of 235 votes. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) Representing: Delaware, Voted with Democratic Party: 96.7 percent of 448 votes.
Now the last thing you want is a president and majority of congress of the same party line because there is no control. The great depression had the same set up, 1927-1931.
Senator Obama's birth Certificate
is not an issue. Is the certificate provided the original? Nope-it's a computer generated form wice one of those daisy wheels that was in common use back in the 1960's. My certificate is fairly similar-raised ink cert sent through a laser printer.
Does anyone really think the DNC would not have checked this out, especially once the same quesition was posed upon Senator McCain by Representative Ron Paul?
Here's the real issue-does he need to post it? Does any candidate need to reveal medical records, service records, tax returns?
They have the same amount of expectation to personal privacy as the rest of us.