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.
LOL
Referring to Ron Paul?
koo koo ka choo
Yes.
LOL! Maybe not for President, but I'll vote for Huckabee as National Toastmaster or something.
I can’t believe the latent anti Christian bigotry thats been exposed by a bookshelf in the background. The fact is, there would have not been a damn thing wrong with it if it HAD have been a cross.
I bet if he had of been Jewish and it had been a menorrah in a Happy Hunakkah video, nobody would have dared said a thing.
This is ridiculous.
Referring to Ron Paul?LOL!
still laughing.....very funny
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Surely the Huckster will take a beating for this? It certainly isn’t presidential.
More from AP.
Huckabee Stands by Christmas Ad
By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON – 20 minutes ago
HOUSTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Tuesday defended his Christmas ad amid suggestions that the ordained Baptist minister had gone too far mixing religion and politics.
The ad, which is airing in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, shows Huckabee in front of a Christmas tree as he says, “Are you about worn out by all the television commercials you’ve been seeing, mostly about politics? Well, I don’t blame you. At this time of year sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and friends.”
Huckabee is courting evangelical voters and other religious conservatives in his bid to win the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. In Texas for a fundraiser, he said the ad was a harmless holiday greeting even though it excludes other religions.
“If we are so politically correct in this country that a person can’t say enough of the nonsense with the political attack ads could we pause for a few days and say Merry Christmas to each other then we’re really, really in trouble as a country,” Huckabee said.
Catholic League president Bill Donahue said Huckabee went beyond wishing people a joyous holiday. Donahue said he was especially disturbed by the cross-like image created by a white bookcase in the background of the ad, saying he believed it was a subliminal message.
“What he’s trying to say to the evangelicals in western Iowa (is): I’m the real thing,” Donahue said Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends. “You know what, sell yourself on your issues, not on what your religion is.”
Huckabee said the bookshelf is just a bookshelf and shrugged off the controversy: “I will confess this: If you play the spot backwards it says, ‘Paul is dead. Paul is dead.’”
He was joking about the Beatles’ recording of “The White Album” and the urban legend that if a portion of the album is played backwards, the words “Paul is dead” is heard, a reference to the very much alive Paul McCartney.
Huckabee will only “take a beating” when he wakes up one day with the impression that he can actually win this thing.
Sincerely,
Pat Buchanan
Ya have to admit. Huckabee has a sense of humor.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
That's what's so frustrating. If Huck was a small government conservative he'd be my ultimate candidate. It IS very refreshing to see a Christian display their faith on a National stage and refuse to apologize for it to anyone.
I’m not a fan of Huckabee as a candidate for president, but I say kudos to him for being bold for Christ.
Good question.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
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