'Two fish and five loaves.'

[lily]

Oh Lord help us! (http://www.newsweek.com/id/74215)

'Two fish and five loaves.'
Posted: Friday, December 07, 2007 6:06 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Huckabee
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Huckabee appears to suggest God, religion and the power of prayer are
responsible for his surge in the polls in a YouTube video, which MSNBC's
Hardball with Chris Matthews aired this afternoon, from a speech at Liberty
University.


"There's only one explanation for it, and it's not a human one," Huckabee
said. "It's the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and five
loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people and that's the only way that our
campaign could be doing what it's doing.

"And I'm not being facetious nor am I trying to be trite. There literally
are thousands of people across who are praying that a little will become
much and it has, and it defies all explanation. It has confounded the
pundits, and I'm enjoying every minute of their trying to figure it out. And
until they look at it from a just experience beyond human, they'll never
figure it out. And that's probably just as well. That's honestly why it's
happening."

[Alonzo]

"There's only one explanation for it, and it's not a human one," Huckabee
said. "It's the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and five
loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people and that's the only way that our
campaign could be doing what it's doing.

I FOUND JESUS! HALLELUJAH!

May I suggest this campaign slogan:

Vote for me, I'm like Jesus!

[Labrocca]

Anyone forsee a quick drop in his numbers being blamed on Satan?

[lily]

"There's only one explanation for it, and it's not a human one,"
Huckabee
said. "It's the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and
five
loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people and that's the only way that our
campaign could be doing what it's doing.

Ok.......I watched the video, but just posted the quote. I didn't catch this
when watching the video..........um.......Jesus wasn't a little boy when he
did those things.:lmao:



May I suggest this campaign slogan:

Vote for me, I'm like Jesus!


I can see the bumper stickers now, right along side of these. It fits right in!


http://www.stickergiant.com/Merchant2/imgs/250/os226.gif

[quiet man]

if that isn't a hopeful outlook i don't know what is.

[AnnEsthesia]

One man's delusion is another man's positive thinking...

[Drocket]

On a more realistic note, I think it's pretty clear what caused Huckabee's sudden rise in the polls: Brownback dropped out. The two of them were previously splitting the 'fundamentalist theocrat' vote, and when one dropped out, the other rather naturally and easily picked up the other guy's supporters. They were both polling at about 15%. Brownback drops out and Huckabee goes to 30%. Less miracle than math, really...

[ECW]

He's the only one in the race now that fits all the requirements that the Religious Right wants in a candidate. He just wasn't that well known before all the debates. If the RR ain't happy, the GOP ain't happy because they control who makes it to the top of the ticket.

[AlanC]

Lily, its true that Jesus wasn't a little boy, but didn't he get the basket with the food from a small boy and have him distribute it? Sorry, its been awhile since Ive read that parable.

I think Huckabee's record on taxes will do him more harm than anything and he is still a long shot for any nomination.

[ECW]

He might be a long shot now but Kerry was polling at 4% at this time in the Democratic primary season and he went on to win the nomination. Huckabee has a lead in Iowa and that might be the launching pad for his candidacy. His position on taxes won't be as much of a problem for the RR because he fills every other square perfectly.

Frankly, I hope for a brokered convention. Nothing would indicate total confusion to the voters like watching ballot after ballot of Republicans unable to come to a decision on the nominee.

[Drocket]

I think Huckabee probably has the best chance of all the Republican candidates. Giuliani is in the midst of self-destructing, with all the revelations of him using taxpayer money to fund his affair. I think he can be safely written off at this point. Thompson - has anyone checked his pulse lately? Romney is currently getting a bit of a boost, what with his big, "don't worry - Mormonism is virtually the same thing as Christianity, so lets all hate the godless heathers together!" speech, but I doubt that'll last - he just has too many negatives for too many key Republican groups. Ron Paul is making some headway, but mostly by virtue of voters who know next-to-nothing about him, other than his antiwar stance. If he ever does manage to be considered a 'top-tier' candidate, I don't think he'll last long.

Huckabee doesn't really have too many negatives - the biggest one is the minor detail of helping free a murdering rapist from prison because of an insane Clinton conspiracy theory. He has the "Religious Right" vote sewn up. As long as he does a few prayers to the God of Lower Taxes, he'll get the financial conservative vote, and a few prayers to the God of Hating Brown People will get him the racist and warmonger vote.

So I think Huckabee's odds are fairly good. Not even close to definite, by any stretch of the imagination - things can always happen (and given the Republican party's recent history, I'd say there's at least a 10% chance he'll be caught tapping his foot in a men's restoorm...) - but better than the other candidates.

[Elrathin]

Drocket I might have agreed with your assessment about 6 months ago if Huckabee did this then. However, with the Religious right already throwing their support to Guiliani now (i.e. Pat Robertson), I don't see it happening. At best Huckabee might split the vote for some in the Republican Primaries, but I just don't see him getting the nomination.

[Drocket]

However, with the Religious right already throwing their support to Guiliani now (i.e. Pat Robertson)

That was before all of the revelations that Guiliani used city funds and personnel for his little trysts. That's essentially the perfect storm of scandals, combining illicit sex with corruption. One without the other can be swept under the rug, but put them together and the media is going to be covering the story for months. Giuliani's campaign can safely be pronounced dead, I think.

[AlanC]

Guliani is a character. His campaigns have always had their wild and wooly moments. He is better than any other politician I know, except maybe for you know who, at shedding what would be disasterous for any other candidate. He has been so unpredictable in his life, that no one holds him to the same standards as anyone else. They almost expect him to have faults and are ready to forgive him for it, or if not forgiving at least overlook them.

I don't think Huckaby has traction outside of a few areas. His tax raising history and some of his seemingly stark stands on homosexuals will keep him from making any headway as a national candidate.

Its true that Kerry was pollling at 4% this time in the last election. But the ground rules have all changed. The moving of the primarys and the bunching of so many primaries into January has greatly reduced the likely hood that a candidate can gain traction with early wins and use them to make startling gains later on. By the end of January, we will probably know who the two candidates are. And that is 6 months ahead of when we knew that traditionally. I think Romney is the only one that can really benefit quickly from a strong showing in New Hampshire.

Because of both funds and organization, I don't see Huckaby or Thompson being viable long enough to become contenders.

ECW, I miss the old conventions that actually meant something. But the truth is, there is no more chance of a Brokered Convention. The mutated primary system assures us that the candidate will be known long before the election takes place. There is no way for more than one or two candidates to really compete. No one goes to the convention as a minority candidate with enough delegates to demand the brokering that used to take place.