(a) "There has been a huge cultural shift in this country. And I think that's why many Americans are seeking leadership that has a positive and optimistic spirit. . . . I think the American people are hungry for vertical politics, where we have leaders who lift us up rather than those who tear us down."You won't be able to answer my question just from the quotes, because the quotes all say the same thing and tap into the same longings. No, to answer my question, you'll have to know which candidate said each quote.
(b) "I suggest to you there is no left or right, only an up or down."
(c) "We know that real leadership is about candor, and judgment, and the ability to rally Americans from all walks of life around a common purpose--a higher purpose. This election is our chance to give the American people a reason to believe again."
The first is from Mike Huckabee on "Meet the Press," the second by Ronald Reagan in a 1964 speech, and the third is from Barak Obama's soaring victory speech following the South Carolina primary. But the media gave Obama a pass on the use of "vertical" imagery while Huckabee was criticized for, as one columnist put it, sending a "clever dog whistle call out to Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals that his politics are God's politics."
This isn't an observation on the candidates so much as it is an observation on the coverage of the candidates--and the cultural environment in which religious conservatives find themselves.
1 comment:
It was interesting last night to hear the shock and suprise of the commentators when Huckabee actually showed up as a viable candidate. One pundit went so far as to say, "Well nobody saw that coming." I bet Gov. Huckabee did!
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