Huckabee: Republican attacks on Obama 'deplorable'

He could go down as the first Republican to spar with conservative icon Rush Limbaugh and live to talk about it.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told the Hudson Union Society some weeks ago that Republican attacks on President Obama for everything from visiting Dover Air Force Base to opening the White House to local trick-or-treaters on Halloween are hurting the country.

Now, his comments are circulating on the net, posing a direct counter to Limbaugh, who has criticized Obama's Dover visit as a photo op.

Said Huckabee:

When he was at Dover the other day, and went there to pay respect for soldiers, I heard a lot of people on the right say, "Aw, that's just a cheap photo-op." No, I think it was the commander-in-chief of our military paying respect to a dead soldier, and I'm grateful that he did that, and I was proud of him for doing that. And I think we all -- as Americans -- should give him credit for doing that.

Perhaps cognizant of public opinion polls that show Obama personally popular with most Americans, even those who disagree with his policies, Huckabee added: "When he and Michele hosted the trick-or-treaters on Halloween, quit finding something wrong with that. Say. 'Good, I'm glad that he and the first lady are treating children to an experience at the White House.' And I just find it deplorable that some people on my end of the aisle want to find everything wrong and nothing right about the man as a man."

Finally, recalling that liberals regularly reviled George W. Bush no matter what he did, Huckabee, a former pastor, pleaded for comity.

I hated it when people did that to George Bush. They couldn't even laugh at the man's jokes. They found something wrong with everything and if we do that to Barack Obama, then shame on us, shame on us. No wonder our country is so divided when that happens.

Huckabee made the comments while on book tour for "A Simple Christmas." Republican insiders, mindful of all the attention focused on former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue," are calling Huckabee's "the other book tour."

-- Johanna Neuman

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Comments

[Jon Strum]

Huckabee's strategy seems to be to leave the fringe elements of the party to Palin, Limbaugh, Beck, et al and to focus his appeal to Republican moderates...which sounds great, providing he can still find a few Republican moderates.

[Chri HL]

I sure do like this Mike Huckabee!

[Okieoneshinobi]

It is deplorable the way that everything Obama does is criticized by the media. Most of it has a degree of ridiculousness to it.

[marina]

Well thank god there are some sensible people among american republicans.

[mark m]

i agree with huck. supporting the opposition on mild issues like the photos and halloween builds street cred when the knives need to come out on tough stuff.

[Huckapedia]

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[Thomas]

Mike Huckabee is one of the few decent people among the leadership of the Republican Party. I truly wish he had been the nominee instead of two people we had in 2008 who basically turned their campaign rallies into hate rallies. I went to several - they were frankly disturbing.

[JIMMY]

i think huckabee is right on the point.i also see a conspiracy among a small group to find fault in everything obama does.be aware,overdoing it shows an obvious agenda and can be used against you at the right time.winning an election is all in timing,and mccain hit the race when a disaster was looming for republicans.who was to blame ?obamas decisions may very well result in success before 2012 election and the naysayers will cause the republican candidate to look too critical and divisive.just think,an angry person is never welcome in your house,are they?

[DavidE73]

Mike Huckabee has the intellect, the character, the governing experience, the good judgment, the ability to communicate, and the charisma to lead America out of the wilderness and back to a prosperous future. He did it before on the smaller stage of Arkansas. He can do it again in the Oval Office.