Notable Quotables

Here are some quotes from some worthwhile commentary regarding the presidential race:

"I was watching the debate at the home of a savvy, moderately conservative New Hampshire Republican. It was at this moment that he turned to me and said: 'You know, I’ve been a huge skeptic about Huckabee. I’m still not voting for him Tuesday. But I’ve got to say — I like him. And I wonder — could he be our strongest nominee?' He could be." (Bill Kristol in his first NY Times Op-Ed column; Tailrank has blogger reactions to the piece here).

"What we have learned about Mr. Huckabee the past few months is that he's an ace entertainer with a warm, witty and compelling persona. He won with no money and little formal organization, with an evangelical network, with a folksy manner, and with the best guileless pose in modern politics. From the mail I have received the past month after criticizing him in this space, I would say his great power, the thing really pushing his supporters, is that they believe that what ails America and threatens its continued existence is not economic collapse or jihad, it is our culture. They have been bruised and offended by the rigid, almost militant secularism and multiculturalism of the public schools; they reject those schools' squalor, in all senses of the word. They believe in God and family and America. They are populist: They don't admire billionaire CEOs, they admire husbands with two jobs who hold the family together for the sake of the kids; they don't need to see the triumph of supply-side thinking, they want to see that suffering woman down the street get the help she needs. They believe that Mr. Huckabee, the minister who speaks their language, shares, down to the bone, their anxieties, concerns and beliefs. They fear that the other Republican candidates are caught up in a million smaller issues--taxing, spending, the global economy, Sunnis and Shia--and missing the central issue: again, our culture. They are populists who vote Republican, and as I have read their letters, I have felt nothing but respect. But . . . while the presidency, as an office, can actually make real changes in the areas of economic and foreign policy, the federal government has a limited ability to change the culture of America. That is something conservatives used to know." (Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal)

"The party that has milked religious conservatives for votes for two decades is traumatized by the prospect that one of that ilk [Huckabee] might actually become its standard-bearer" (Frank Rich's Op-Ed piece in the NYT).

"In policies and rhetoric, Huckabee is most like the Bull Moose version of Theodore Roosevelt in his domestic policy ideas. Roosevelt wanted a government big enough to counter-balance big business. He was a “trust buster” and conservationist. While not hating the rich, he did not trust them. He sounded a lot like the modern Huckabee. Perhaps Huckabee should stop trying to channel Reagan (who was much more pro-business and radically free market) and start talking up T.R." ("Winners and Losers of Debate Night: the Return of Bull Moose Republicanism")

"Nothing is more important to me than my personal relationship with Jesus Christ—not my family, not my career, and certainly not this upcoming election. I can say with Mike Huckabee that my faith “defines me.” In fact, I wrote a book this year telling others how they could know Jesus Christ, and I would be thrilled if every American president had a genuine, personal relationship with Christ. But I have at least four problems with expecting or requiring my personal faith in a candidate for public office—be it a Republican or a Democrat" (Mark Demoss: "Candidates' Faith Has Played Too Big a Role in White House Race.") Every citizen Christian should read this excellent piece. If I finally decide to vote for Huckabee, it won't be because of his faith (Christian) or his former profession (Baptist pastor).

"Whatever the minor policy differences among Democrats, their major domestic ambition this campaign season is the government takeover of the health-care market. The Republican nominee will need a free-market alternative, and a way of explaining it that is more concise and compelling than we've heard so far" ("HillaryCare v. Obama" in the WSJ). Amen.