Jewish Groups Irked by Cross on Republican Podium
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.
I love being Southern Baptist. Great pastors that occasionally leave you on the floor laughing.
I approve of this ad. It’s great!
I am not squabbling over the church. I love the Church, if you must know.
I am criticizing a political candidate for being a cynical, manipulative weasel, and then having the gall to deny it and crack a joke.
Were you born last night?
Backgrounds and lighting are studied and debated over by experts for DAYS before these commercials are shot. Not one ornament is there by "accident."
If you are telling me that you believe the Huckster, when he says the cross effect was not purposeful, then you are telling the world you are ready to buy the Holland Tunnel.
We are not "squabbling over the church" unless you are saying that the Huckster is the human embodiment of the church.
We are talking about this man being a very cynical and purposeful LIAR, to use the cross as a prop, and then to deny it.
Your cynicism tells you he is lying about the bookcase,I dont know, but I choose to focus on the larger message in that message.
All I intended this thread to be about was Huckabee’s “Paul is dead” response to Ron Paul’s criticism of the ad.
So, you are equating these images, and saying that neither of them is an intentional manipulation?
I'm just trying to figure out how credulous you are. I have this bridge in Brooklyn, you see, that I just don't need anymore...
Y'know, Travis... You may be on to something there...
I’m saying that attacking Huckabee on a Christian message at Christmas is a bad idea for the party.
The Dems aren’t touching this.
It is a brilliant ad. Wow...words fail me.
That comment did not happen in a vacuum.
Actually I think it goes:
Well here’s a clue for you all/ The walrus was Paul.
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.
That is a brilliant summary and spot on. The only technical detail I would ad is that to get the cross moving effect, the camera was mounted on a moving track. This is calculated for one purpose only, to move the cross from "sunrise" to "sunset" right behind the Huckster's head.
This had to be tried over and over, with stand-ins sitting in the Huckster's place, until it was just perfet in its timing to match his words.
To pretend it's an accident is very stupid, because it's such a patently obvious trick.
He is betting that most people are VERY STUPID, and won't figure it out.
A true Elmer Gantry for our times.
It is a great ad. You are right about that. If it were not an effective manipulation, nobody would care
Ah...here come the ad hominem attacks
Do you approve of his LYING by denying that the moving cross effect was carefully crafted?
And I'm saying that anybody who cynically uses the cross as a stage prop, and then lies about it being on purpose, is NO REAL CHRISTIAN.
No real Christian could be such a cynical liar, about the very cross!
If the cross is just a prop for the Huckster, to use and then to lie about, what does it say about his character?
Y'know, Travis... You may be on to something there...
That can go down some pretty frightening roads in a big hurry.
What, Huckabee is the only one allowed to use humor?
I am sorry if you felt insulted or denigrated by my little joke, but somebody might have thought it was funny.
(That was a non-apology apology by the way)
Now for the real one. I did not intend to be offensive. I apologize for being offensive. Reviewing my comment, I realize it was a personal attack, which is inappropriate.
No worrys
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.