Mike Huckabee and the Faith-Fueled Fit of Ecstasy
Yes. I saw the latest Mike Huckabee ad about getting away from politics and celebrating the birth of Jesus and the importance of spending time with our families. No question, it appealed to me and made me blush, smile and feel proud that someone is not ashamed to be a Christian in America.
The ad will be effective — and it will almost certainly whip the religious right into a faith-fueled fit of ecstasy.
But let’s take a step back and assess the ad from another, equally valid religious perspective. If I were Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or the follower of any other faith, would I have been offended by this ad or felt alienated?
It was hard to ignore the symbolism of the cross in the background, despite the dubious denials that this was inadvertent. The warm smile, the soft red sweater and the Christmas tree adorned with ornaments in celebration of the most important Christian holiday of the year. Candidate Huckabee has spoken loud and clear — he is not taking his religious brothers for granted. Instead, he is going for broke with what some would characterize as a shameless attempt to pander to the millions of religiously motivated voters who may be the deciding factor in our next presidential election.
Many Americans are warming to the Huckabee Express, which is gathering speed and racing forward toward capturing the White House. A reminder: Huckabee showed up at the all-black forum with Tavis Smiley at Morgan State University when the four other front-runners decided that they couldn’t make time for black America and its issues. Americans from diverse backgrounds still speak warmly about hearing from Huckabee at this event.
Huckabee reminds me of an old, smooth country preacher. He always says the right thing. He seems so perfect and almost too good to be true. Let us all stay tuned to see if we are destined for another Arkansas-born president — and find out if he is the real deal or just another Slick Willy. Oops … Slick Willy was elected.
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