Huckabee's Iowa surge
Mike Huckabee is rising in GOP presidential polls in Iowa, said Economist.com, but don't expect even a win in the state's caucuses to "yield a President Huckabee." That's good, said Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times. Huckabee is "char
What happened
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee this week launched his first TV ad—featuring action-movie star Chuck Norris—as he surged to second place in the Iowa polls behind Mitt Romney. Analysts said a win for Huckabee’s underfunded campaign in Iowa would weaken Romney, and give a boost to fellow Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani. (USNews.com)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even a win in Iowa is unlikely “to yield a President Huckabee,” said Economist.com in an editorial. He’s a marginal candidate nationwide, with little money and organization. But he can do Romney serious damage in Iowa by finishing strong after stealing the headlines with a second-place finish in the state’s August straw poll.
Huckabee is a “charming, decent, friendly, pious man,” said Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times (free registration), but he’s “scary,” at least to conservatives. He’s “a devout social conservative on issues such as abortion, school prayer, homosexuality and evolution,” but he “believes that the biblical obligation to do ‘good works’ extends to using government—and your tax dollars—to bring us closer to the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.”
Many people have asked Romney—a Mormon—to explain why “his religion is not a threat,” said Richard Cohen in The Washington Post (free registration). Huckabee should answer that question first. Romney is clearly “not enslaved by any dogma,” but Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, makes it plain that “he does not distinguish between his faith and his politics.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Horror stories of women having to carry nonviable fetuses'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Haiti interim council, prime minister sworn in
Speed Read Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns amid surging gang violence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - teleprompter troubles, presidential immunity, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published