Mike Huckabee removes foot from mouth

Mike Huckabee used his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday to reiterate his regret for a comment he made while speaking to the National Rifle Assn. convention two days before.

You'll recall, of course, that Huckabee's quick quips on the campaign trail enlivened his run for the GOP presidential nomination. On Friday, after hearing a chair fall over backstage during his speech, Huckabee "joked" that the loud banging sound was Sen. Barack Obama tripping over a chair after "somebody aimed a gun at him and ... he dove for the floor."

It was quickly pointed out that a remark about an attempted assassination of the Democratic presidential front-runner wasn't very smart -- or amusing -- and the former Arkansas governor just as quickly posted an apology on his blog. On Sunday, he went further:

"It was a dumb, off-the-cuff remark," he told "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert, adding: "And, you know, it wasn't the first dumb thing I've ever said and -- let me go ahead and announce on this program -- it won't be the last dumb thing I've ever said. ... This wasn't funny, I'll be the first to tell you that. Shouldn't have said it. I apologize. I don't know what else I can do."

-- Leslie Hoffecker

Comments

[david in WHFD]

It was indicative of a mindset. I trust Fox will give it as much coverage to Rev. Huckabee as Fox gave to Rev. Wright

[Paul]

Let me get this out of the way:

Bla, bla, comment completely irrelevant to topic, bla, bla, delusional diatribe, bla, bla, VOTE RON PAUL!

[SandraL]

David, I'm inclined to take Huckabee's apology at face value, and mainly because his was the only voice of reason from the GOP side of things (and much of the Dem side, for that matter) regarding the Rev. Wright thing:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/03/21/huckabee_on_obama_wright_cut_s.html

[James Miller]

Governor Huckabee - Joking around about shooting a presidential candidate, from the other party, the first black candidate in history, in front of the NRA is criminal, not to mention sinful. There is truth in sarcasm and you've just crossed the line to the dark side. Humor or no humor, your asinine comment was offensive and moronic. It deserves far more than just a simple apology.

[Kenny Cramer]

David,

While I completely disagree with Huckabee on policy issues, I must say he is the most respectful conservative republican... I am a an Obama supporter and despise relgious zealots in the far right... I originally had a very unfavorable view of Huckabee (and still do not like he stance of social issues -- such as gay rights, etc.). He did not mean anything by his comment... even Obama has acknowledged that. Remember this is a man who actually defended Obama during the Rev. Wright faux-scandle. Even on Meet the Press, he was very complimentary of Obama... even though he supports McCain. I respect the fact that he immediately apologized for his attempted joke. It was not a planned thing... I can't believe I am defending a member of the GOP.

[Larry]

But heartfelt, eh Mike?

You are stoopid. Stoopid. Stoopid.

You said it and you meant it

Real Americans, not lying, cowardly, hypocritical lBush-loving, Jonny-reb traitors, will not forget.

What else can you do?

I think you know what the honorable thing is- if you have the guts.

[dlw]

We truly live in a remarkable country when a blathering and narrow-minded evangelist can (1) "run" (such as it was) for president, (2) lose, (3) continue to be viewed as and called upon as a would-be "pundit," and then (4) pander in the most shameless of ways to people who hide behind The Constitution to gratify their compensatory gun-lust (doesn't take too much imagination to work out the compensatory mechanisms in play) and, in the process, work them up into a lather with jokes about killing a real presidential front-runner - - who just happens to be a Black man. What a guy! What a place!

[Deward Bowles]

The comment was inexcusable by Huckabee.

I like him but this kind of comment whether in jest, by design or by mistake is simply outrageous.

[J.DOE]

I believe it was a bad joke, but if you look at his position and the national platform he's on, an apoligy is not good enough. The damage is done. A large % of radicals are pro gun and are probably NRA members. The thought of a black president would drive these fanatics to extreme measures. In court, lawyers object all the time. Although it's off the record, the jury is already exposed. A basic tactic used to plant an idea or a mental picture without fault. Huckabee's comment is unforgivable. In his profession, everything said and done always has an agenda. There are no accidents.

[Purity]

I thought it was kinda funny, especially for how quick he said it and the kind of room he was speaking to. You gotta realize, people at those functions are laid back and like bad jokes and gun jokes, I heard about half the room snickering.
I don't think there was anything wrong with his joke. It's just that what you say to a room full of people that get it isn't meant to be heard by the majority of other people. Rev. Wright's comments are the same, when you're speaking about something in a context with people that think along certain lines you're in the clear, no one in that room was gonna go make a huge fuss about what he said. But when things are removed from a time/place/setting and shown to everyone in the world, of course some white people aren't gonna like what black people say behind closed doors and some black people aren't gonna like what white people say behind closed doors. It's not racism it's racial equality in it's own way to be able to make jokes or have stereotypes or differing opinions and not have hate and bloodshed come out of it non-stop.
I don't mind Wright's comments. Goddamn America. We do suck right now and everyone in political power is ruining us. I don't mind Huckabee's joke, it sounds exactly like something Obama would do, people freak out around guns when they're not used to them and it's a funny mental picture.
There's being too much made out of nothing lately in the media and in this presidential race. This whole thing is a big joke, a circus where if you look the best and don't say or do anything stupid, you win. No one should give a shit about all of that, why doesn't anyone care about issues?
Also, does it piss anyone else off that all of Clinton's votes are coming from retarded white people? She's not even a Dem, we've got a third party called the New World Order and she and McCain are New World Order party members but she gets waves of Dem votes 'cause her name is Clinton and she has a big D. Why are we consistantly voting for a monarchy? This is the whole reason we have democratic process, so the same idiots can't keep doing things to benefit themselves and run the country as a family.
Can Clinton's supporters even read? I don't get it. They obviously don't understand what they're doing. We need Presidential IQ tests before people are allowed to vote. You should have to say your candidate and be able to pick what their main issues are, then your vote's counted. As it stands millions of votes are out just because people can't fill in some bubbles right. America, America, what the hell is wrong with you people? Don't vote if you don't understand, let smarter people make decisions for you, that's a good way of excercising your right to vote...
/Rant off
Peace, I'm out. VOTE RON PAUL!

[GC]

As someone else pointed out, during the Reverend Wright deal Huckabee went on national television and defended Barack Obama when he could just as easily have thrown him under the bus.

While I'm sure he has a very sneaky political side to him (just as, GASP, Barack Obama has -- and you're a dolt if you think otherwise), he comes off a funny MFer who does seem to care about the people who vote for him.

What possible advantage is there to Huckabee making this joke? The "pro-gun radicals" were already voting for McCain.

It wasn't a particularly funny joke, but people who are calling for his head are a great source of comedy.

[Josh in Seattle]

Im torn... Huckabee is a very nice man, and he did defend Obama regarding Wright. But I think the real reason that this is offensive - So much more, in my opinion, than "Bittergate" is because some of our nations finest and most promising/ hopeful leaders have been GUNNED DOWN.

1. Abraham Lincoln (1860's)
2. John and Robert Kennedy (1960's)
3. Martin Luther King (1960's)
4. Attempt on Regan's life (1980's)

His joke struck me as morally offensive. That is not a term I would use lightly. His apology is, of course genuine, but
symptomatic of much of what is wrong in America today.

Go Obama 2008!

[pigfart]

its nothing, and everybody who trys to make somthin outta this, is either bored with the moment, or just plain outright judgemental, has not one of you here, never spoke words that reflect ones own immaturity, this mr huckabeee is no different, then you or I....get over it and move on....it is a waste of energy and time...

[larrysteve]

Considering how many black folks have been shot, lynched, and otherwise murdered by whites in this country, Huckabee can't pass this off as just a "dumb, off-the-cuff" comment. If a guy wearing a turban joked about bombing an airplane he would be arrested immediately. Not that huckabee should be arrested, but this is serious stuff and, for a guy who claims not to be rascist, shows an alarming lack of sensitivity at the very least.

[Fido]

What do expect from a guy who believes the world is only ten thousand years old, and thinks passed legislation for equal rights for woman's was unhelpful.

[J.DOE]

No one is asking for his head when he is giving it away.
When history is in the making, knowing the history between the blacks and whites. A comment like that is taken seriously. Joke or not, a black leader or president is a change that some thought would never happen. I agree, Huckabee tried to cater to the demographics of the NRA with some improv. but this is not Rev. J. Wright, a local preacher in Chicago were talking about. We're talking about a Former Republican presidential candidate,who obviously he has a higher platform. Is there an advantage, probably not. Im only worried about how some might be construed by his jokes.
His comments were irresponsible

[new_york_loner]

Why is a self-proclaimed, born-again Christian and former pastor speaking to the National Rifle Association in the first place? What would Jesus do?

Jesus of Nazareth was an un-armed pacifist who is reputed to have said something along the lines of this - When someone slaps us on the cheek, we should turn our other cheek to the slapper.

If He were here today, the Prince of Peace might choose to address the NRA, not to praise it, but to rebuke it.

One other thing, unlike Pastor Huckabee, Jesus was not a theocrat. Christ never supported the idea of a Jewish State in Palestine or the idea of a "Christtian Nation". Jesus said that His Kingdom was "not of this world", we should take His word on that..

Pastor Huckabee would do well to follow Christ's admonishment and render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto the Lord what is the Lord's. Christ apparently believed in the idea of separating church matters from matters of state. We should too.

[larrysteve]

Well said NY_Loner. It's hard to believe, but we're talking about a Christian pastor here.

But then, as the bumper sticker says about the christain right -- they are neither christain nor right.

Or as George Bernard Shaw said "the trouble with Christianity is - - it's never been tried."

Huckabee's comment was about as un-Christlike a thing to say as one could imagine. David Duke, George Wallace, or James Earl Ray would have a hard time topping it.

[caveman]

Just another phony trying to talk it up to his audience.

[new_york_loner]

Thank you, larrysteve. I think that you will agree, Holy WARS SUCK.

If you ckick on my username, you will link to my blog. Please visit and leave a comment(s)

You are right, even David Duke would have a hard time topping Huckabee's gaffe. On the bright side, maybe this will torpedo Huck's chances of gettting on the GOP ticket as McCain's Veep.

[tommy jonq]

i'm not sure it's completely a joke. the only reason hillary is staying in the race is because of the realistic possibility of an assassination, a plane crash, a slip in the shower. and if bob barr really does pull a ross perot, the only way the Old White People's Club can possibly keep obama out of the white's house is "an unfortunate event."

[tommy jonq]

i'm not sure it's completely a joke. the only reason hillary is staying in the race is because of the realistic possibility of an assassination, a plane crash, a slip in the shower. and if bob barr really does pull a ross perot, the only way the Old White People's Club can possibly keep obama out of the white's house is "an unfortunate event."

[ST]

The responses on the board here are merely another prime example of why this country, the land I love more than any other, is quickly fading into the light. I am a part Mexican, part Scottish, white, male, Christian, and epileptic, all of which lead to a wealth of really funny jokes, but it seems in today’s "hyper-sensitive" arena, every joke is believed by the masses to be some sort of personal attack.

Why is it that when a minority tells a joke, we all laugh with great fervor, but when a white tells the identical joke, we all get uncomfortable about what they said, grab the pitch forks, make them step down from their position, rake them through the coals and make them beg and plead for forgiveness for their mortal sins? I enjoy a good redneck joke if it's coming from Larry the Cable Guy or Chris Rock.

Have we gotten SO anal-retentive as a nation that we can't just take a comedic quip at face value without believing EVERYTHING to be a personal attack.

Look at some of the comedy of Carlos Mencena, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, George Carlin, all of which have "offended" blacks, whites, asians, women, men, short people, fat people, old people, kids, and you know what...who cares - they're comments are in jest and anyone that believes those comments and takes them to heart, as well as those of Mike Huckabee really need to just lighten up.

Crimany, if I can deal with a Mexican joke, a Scottish joke, the slew of jokes about being white, jokes about my Christian faith, and the occasional seizure joke without getting my panties in a wad, why can't everyone else simply lighten up!

(Here's a hint: you'll find that life will be a bit more enjoyable.)

[Constituent]

The comments by Governor Mike Huckabee were so despicable and unnerving, it gives me a sick feeling inside. The mainstream press should be all over this comment. Sure, he offered an apology, but this was not just any comment. He “joked” about assassinating a candidate for the President of the United States of America! One might expect such talk in a unlawful third world country, but here? What has happened to us? His words were not some harmless joke or an out of line comment.

Mr. Huckabee owes Senator Obama a personal apology. Then he owes us sane and law abiding Americans an apology for even thinking or mentioning the unthinkable. I have lived through three assassinations in this country, in addition to two attempts of assassination on the lives of public individuals. I do not want to even entertain the thought of another such attempt at a life. Mr. Huckabee, you should be ashamed of yourself. You said something like, “well, if you knew me, I say stupid things like that every so often”. I do not care to ever know another human being like you.

[woody]

It seems huckabee apologizes for more stupid things that come out of his stupid mouth.

Not very presidential.

Not very Christian.

What will he say when he offends other countries, 'oh, I am sorry for saying that', and then they bomb the life out of America.

If he gets into the White House, he will bring America to war on American soil.

Wolf in sheep clothing!