by Ed Forester

Created on: December 17, 2007   Last Updated: July 02, 2008

Mike Huckabee has become the Howard Dean of the 2008 election cycle. He is bright and charismatic, with a message that resonates with his core constituencies. However, Huckabee does have a history of saying things that may reflect an intolerant view of others. Those who know Huckabee realize this comes from his fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and it is very probably going to destroy his chances for the presidency. Even though Huckabee make his somewhat offensive remarks many years ago, they do reflect his current views.

Huckabee's fundamental problems don't really stem from misspoken statements or off-the-cuff remarks during a heated debate. The difficulty lies with Huckabee's stated intentions to be a Christian first and a strong president second. This is simply unappealing to most voters. However deeply spiritual most Americans are, most voters are instinctively wary of a very devout politician - whatever his or her faith. Voters have been supportive of the first Roman Catholic to hold high office (JFK), and have been very supportive of Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney despite his Mormon faith. The difference between these two successful candidates and Huckabee is that they didn't put faith before good governance. Huckabee has yet to make this critical distinction. We don't live in a theocracy, and voters need to know that common sense and political skills will trump faith and dogma once a candidate is elected.

Huckabee seems tone-deaf to this reality and seems content to run as a Christian candidate instead of a capable politician. His remarks are defensible coming from an individual, but not acceptable to many voters who are deciding between political candidates. My prediction is that his popularity will suddenly decline when voters realize he is simply unelectable due to his very real "religion" problem.

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