Mike Huckabee's attack on Natalie Portman... and Sarah Palin?
The potential 2012 presidential candidate rips into the pregnant, unmarried actress. But is he really taking aim at someone else?
Feminists aren't the only ones taking issue with Natalie Portman. Earlier this week on Michael Medved's conservative radio show, Mike Huckabee ripped into the Oscar-winner and mom-to-be, calling it "troubling" that she and other unmarried starlets are having children, and that it's "unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize" them. What was Huckabee really doing here? (Watch an MSNBC report about Huckabee's comments)
Attacking Sarah Palin: Huckabee is using Portman as a proxy, says Gryphen at The Immoral Minority. He's really attacking Sarah Palin, whose daughter is "perhaps the most famous single mom in the country." That might give him an edge over Palin with evangelical voters in the 2012 GOP presidential primaries, but he should be careful. Momma Grizzly gets angry when you mess with her children.
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Changing his tactics: Huckabee was once known for his straight talk and pragmatism, says James Oliphant in the Los Angeles Times, "often acting as a contrarian within the GOP." But the former Arkansas governor has undergone a transformation lately, suggesting President Obama grew up in Kenya, and now this. Apparently, if he runs he'll wage a "no-holds-barred campaign" focusing on social conservatives.
"Mike Huckabee's no Charlie Sheen, but made himself heard this week nonetheless"
Making a mistake: Huckabee is making the same "dumb mistake" Dan Quayle made decades ago, says Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway, when he called out sitcom character "Murphy Brown" for "glamorizing" unwed motherhood. Quayle became even "more of a target for ridicule" for his "absurd" remarks, and Huckabee probably will, too. And Huckabee's comment is "particularly inane," as Portman has plans to marry the father of her child in the coming weeks.
"Mike Huckabee rips Natalie Portman for 'glamorizing' single motherhood"
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