Posted on 12/18/2007 1:01:15 PM PST by mylife
Huckabee on Christ Ad Brouhaha: 'Paul is Dead'
December 18, 2007 3:07 PM
ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Former Governor Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., had some fun Tuesday answering a question about a brewing controversy over his latest TV ad called "What Really Matters."
Huckabee is running a Christmas ad in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina where the former Baptist minister invokes Jesus Christ -- the first 2008 Republican candidate to do so in a campaign ad.
In the ad Huckabee says that that at this time of year, "what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and our friends."
Some have suggested there is an image of a cross behind Huckabee's shoulder as he talks to the camera in the ad, but Huckabee dismissed that Tuesday.
"That was a book shelf behind me, a book shelf," Huckabee told reporters while campaigning in Houston, Texas.
Huckabee was asked if his language crossed the line between faith and politics: "Absolutely not," he said.
Huckabee went on to joke, to the delight of the reporters in the room, "I will confess this; if you play the spot backwards it says 'Paul is dead, Paul is dead, Paul is dead.'"
The Republican candidate likened the dissection of his Christmas campaign ad to rumors that Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash at the height of the Beatles popularity and replaced by a doppelganger, and that subtle clues were placed inside the group's music for years to come.
So, you’re not bothered by his LYING about using the cross as a prop?
I think he reached a lot of people with that message.
Its also reached a lot of cycnics.
I dont know whats in, his heart.
It was insulting and consescending to anyone with eyes and a brain who saw his cheap trick for what it obviously was.
He compounds his sleaze by throwing yet another religiously loaded bomb, implying that people are upset because he wished folks a merry Christmas.
I can't believe how gullible the Huckster acolytes are! No wonder phony Elmer Gantry's make millions!
“Lets save the venom for the Dems”
I am not a Huckabee acolyte!
I just thought the “paul is dead” thing was funny
We are not voting for or against Dems anytime soon.
Lets work this whole primary thing out before we start worrying about the Dems. If we are on the verge of nominating Bill Clinton with a Bible to head up the Republican Party, we should probably talk about that, don'tcha think?
Can you not see that the sleaze outweighs the chuckle by a factor of about a thousand-to-one?
The reason I think he’s not lying is because it makes no sense to have a subliminal message when he comes right out and says “what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ.” Mike Huckabee does not need to slip secret Christian messages into his commercial. Everyone knows he is a Christian because he comes right out and says so.
Attacking Huckabee over a message of Christ at Christmas will hardly further our cause.
Huckabee may be disingenuine, but attacking him over this is DUMB.
The Dems dont even have to go there because we are doing it for them.
Remember when Sen. Lieberman was selected as the running mate, the media couldn’t get enough of asking him about his faith. But let a Christian make reference to his/her faith? Ooooohhhhh, that’s scary, boys and girls!—Count Floyd
The comment was in response to Paul.
The Media is to dumb to get it.
re: #79
That’s my point, he used Christ in a “clever” way to get attention for himself. :(
jw
re: #96
I concur.
jw
It is not possible that the central visual element of a political advertisement, in this day in age, is an accident. It is big and bright white in an composition that is muted and dark colored. It shines like a beacon. It is simply beyond belief that this was not intentional or that nobody noticed before the ad went out. It insults the intelligence of us all that he would ask us to believe such a thing.
The use of the cross is a masterful bit of manipulation. As the scene slowly turns, the cross, which some find uncomfortable, is slowly eclipsed by the warm and smiling face of Mike Huckabee flanked by everbody's favorite semi-secular symbol, the Christmas Tree. To the Christian, Huckabee is overtly placing himself on the Cross of Christ, upstaging Christ. To a non-Christian or a person uncomfortable with Christian symbols, his face is relieving their discomfort like a soothing balm. It really is beautifully done.
But it is also cynical manipulation of Christian symbology, and Huckabee should not have done it. He should not compound his error now by denying it.
Asked about the ad today, Ron Paul decried Huckabees religious iconography with his own veiled reference on Fox and Friends:
It reminds me of what Sinclair Lewis once said. He says, when fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross. Now I dont know whether thats a fair assessment or not, but you wonder about using a cross, like he is the only Christian or implying that subtly. So, I dont think I would ever use anything like that.
I am not attacking Huckabee over a message of Christ. I think the message is fine. Merry Christmas, the Reason For The Season, and all that.
I am attacking Huckabee for being a cynical manipulator, and then lying about it. I am attacking Huckabee for using religious symbols as a cheap trick, which is insulting to Christianity and anybody who believes.
And your squabbling over the church is helpful how?
I think it’s funny too, in the sense of watching a carny huckster work a crowd, and get them to empty their pockets.
But I don’t find LYING ABOUT THE CROSS to be funny one bit. Scary, dangerous, yes, but funny, NO.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.