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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New George W. Bush Presidential Center will include -- surprise! -- some Texas style

 
Much like the man who inspires it, the new George W. Bush Presidential Center will be a combination of Texas style and East Coast tradition. That’s the word on the renderings of the 225-square-foot, $250-million center.

The plans for the center, to be built at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, were released Wednesday and, in the words of Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, “carry no hint of the swagger, bravado or taste for confrontation that Bush was known for as president.” Among the Texas touches will be pecan wood paneling and, outside, wildflowers, bluebonnets and prairie.

On The Times’ Culture Monster blog, Hawthorne writes:

Designed by New York’s Robert A.M. Stern, arguably the country’s leading historicist architect, the library is a handsome, contextual piece of architecture wrapped in Texas limestone (which may sound like a euphemism, like "Texas tea," but isn’t) and red brick. Though on its main facades it uses classical themes in a mostly abstract way, rather than literally, it is very much meant to complement SMU’s predominantly Georgian-style landmarks.

A statement released by the center sums up the blend of styles this way:

The light-filled building is both presidential and welcoming, includes elements that evoke both Texas and Washington, and will house the three components of the George W. Bush Presidential Center: an Archive, a Museum and a policy Institute.

Check out Hawthorne’s full article for more on the center, plus more renderings of the buildings and site.

We can’t help wondering if the center will include an exhibit on weapons of mass destruction. It could even be interactive -- visitors could wander the complex and never find the WMD. Just a thought. 

-- Steve Padilla

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Upper photo: Artist rendering of the Bush Presidential Center. Credit: Robert A.M. Stern

Lower photo: Former First Lady Laura Bush at news conference Wednesday announcing plans for the new center. Credit: Associated Press 

'Going Rogue' by the numbers: Sarah Palin's missing index has been found!

We salute Slate and the New Republic, whose quick-thinking staffers decided to produce an index for Sarah Palin’s bestselling book, “Going Rogue: An American Life.”  Some had speculated that Palin decided not to put an index in the back of her book to thwart the traditional "Washington read," which involves standing in a bookstore searching the index of a newly published tome for your name or the names of friends, enemies and/or frenemies.
   After reading the independent indices, we conclude that authors and publishers must be careful what they stint on. An independent index, it turns out, is more than a simple alphabetical listing of content. It’s a powerful analytical tool, as you will see from our excerpts of both versions:

Baby shower at shooting range 76
Bridge to Nowhere 237
“Captive” of McCain campaign 261
Caribou lasagna 218
“Change,” on originating campaign slogan before Obama 114, 225
Clinton, Hillary, Palin’s non-accusations about whining of 287
Couric, Katie Lack of knowledge about energy issues 207, 273; Low self-esteem of 256; As “lowest rated news anchor in network television 270; Unfair editing of interview with 272-275, 279; Lack of national pride 279

Palin's book sparks attack on vegetarians

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has never made any bones, if you will, about her culinary preferences. She's a carnivore, a hunter and proud of both.

So it's not really a surprise that her book, "Going Rogue," published today, extols the virtues of eating meat.

"If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore," she wrote. "If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?”

But the former Republican vice presidential candidate did not stop there.

“I love meat," she writes. "I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak. But I especially love moose and caribou. I always remind people from outside our state that there's plenty of room for all Alaska's animals -- right next to the mashed potatoes.”

A vegetarian from Cleveland took issue with Palin. In a blog on the Examiner, Daelyn Fourtney wrote that Palin's remarks "will surely receive a chuckle and thumbs up from many avid hunters and steak house patrons. It is a sad statement on our society when we applaud those who refer to animals as the centerpiece of their dinner plate."

Now, Fourtney is reporting that she has received a lot of hostile e-mails from conservatives assuming her to be a left-wing pinko. A sampling of her inbox:

* “The liberal/socialist media elites are terrified of America's new Reagan and it's so much fun to see their PDS (Palin Derangement Syndrome) on display...including this Fortney writer.” –freeperjim

“Politicizing Food now?...is nothing sacred? ... off, Alinksy Vegan Radicals.” – Tyler

“You liberals and militant vegs. apparently need a humor transplant.” –Keith

The Cleveland food writer -- in some quarters now known as the "Rogue Vegetarian" -- said her politics are separate from her eating habits.

"I have chosen to live a vegetarian lifestyle because I believe in the sanctity of life for all creatures," she said. "Assuming that one is left or right based on what they choose to eat is a dangerous road to travel."

Still, she said, she's not counting on a Christmas card from the Republican Party this year.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Sarah Palin with a caribou she shot in Alaska. Credit: Associated Press

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Sarah Palin's steamy passage about husband Todd, plus surprisingly kind words about Hillary Clinton

It's not the typical kind of passage for a political memoir. But hey, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Pallin isn't the typical kind of politician.

Amid rumors that Palin and her husband Todd, known as Alaska's "First Dude," were getting a divorce, the governor recounts this moment in her odyssey. If it reads like a Harlequin novel, viewer discretion advised.

“That day in sunny Texas when the divorce rumors were rampant in the tabloids, I watched Todd, tanned and shirtless, take the baby from my arms and walk him back to the ranch house so Trig could nap while I made calls,” she writes in "Going Rogue," the much-publicized memoir out Tuesday. "Seeing Todd’s blue eyes smiling, I chuckled. ‘Dang,’ I thought. ‘Divorce Todd? Have you seen Todd?’”

Palin's book, "Going Rogue," is being released Tuesday with a huge publicity drum roll -- beginning with today's interview with Oprah Winfrey  -- and considerable speculation about whether the publicity will help Palin resurrect her political career.

In the meantime, various quotations are leaking out. One of the most intriguing is the Republican vice presidential candidate's view of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then battling Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination.

From the book: "Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I know that we will fundamentally disagree on many issues, but my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail. …[A] lot of her supporters think she proved what Margaret Thatcher proclaimed: 'If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.' "

Here's Clinton's response.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo Credit: Gatty Images

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Palin's roguish book tour schedule details

The secret Sarah Palin speeches we never heard

Sarah Palin breaks with GOP to endorse Conservative 

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Rogue rage: Team McCain strikes back at Palin

Arizona Sen. John McCain has been a gentleman abut the whole thing, artfully dodging questions, urging his staffers to hold their tongues too.

But for many of the top political names who worked on McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, "Going Rogue," by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is just too much to take quietly.

In the book, Palin attacks campaign manager Steve Schmidt for silencing her. She accuses communications aide Nicolle Wallace of forcing designer clothes on her and cajoling her into doing that disastrous interview with CBS' Katie Couric out of pity for the anchor's low ratings. She complains that the McCain campaign charged her $50K for her own vetting.

Schmidt calls Palin's memoir "total fiction." He added: "Why is the bald guy always the villain?"

As for the allegation about Wallace, former campaign manager Mark Salter told Politico that was unlikely.  Wallace "did not decide which interview requests the candidates would accept," Salter said. "Nor was she tasked with securing the candidates’ agreement." Wallace said the account was "totally fabricated."

As for the vetting accusation, campaign counsel Trevor Potter told the Atlantic, "I can confirm that she was not billed for any vetting costs by the campaign."

Using the book for "petty and pathetic" score-settling, said former McCain strategist John Weaver, belittles Palin's own stature.

"Sarah Palin reminds me of Jimmy Stewart in the movie 'Harvey,' complete with imaginary conversations," he said. " The score-settling by someone who wants to be considered a serious national player is petty and pathetic. The problem wasn't who her interview was with, the problem was her interview," he added.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Brian Adams / Runner's World

Related items:

Sarah's new Twitter account

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Palin's roguish book tour schedule details

The secret Sarah Palin speeches we never heard

Sarah Palin breaks with GOP to endorse Conservative

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Palin book tour will look a lot like a presidential bid launch ... Hmmm, a coincidence?

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin plans to launch her book tour next week with an appearance on "Oprah" and a book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Grand Rapids, Mich.

With a memoir called "Going Rogue," Palin returns to the place where she earned that title, parting company with the decision by Republican John McCain's presidential campaign to write off Michigan, conceding the economically depressed state to Democrat Barack Obama.

Like any good presidential campaign, Palin's book tour will be conducted from a bus painted with the cover of the book and will be making two to three stops a day.

The rest of the book tour mimics an announcement schedule for a presidential candidate, taking Palin to places she is likely to attract friendly book buyers -- and voters. The highlight reel: Roanoke, Va.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Sioux City, Iowa; Noblesville, Ind.; Washington, Pa. and Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Big city voters? Forgetaboutit. No L.A., no N.Y., no Chicago, no D.C.

"From Michigan, the 'Going Rogue' tour will cover as much of the country as possible," Palin said this week on her Facebook page. "I've decided to stop in cities that are not usually included in a typical book tour." Translation: places with pockets of red-state voters, oops, make that readers.

"These are the places where she had her biggest fans and where we think we will sell the most books," said Tina Andreadis of HarperCollins, owned by conservative Rupert Murdoch..

Speaking of presidential campaigns, the Detroit News reports that Palin could just miss crossing paths with another candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The day before Palin's book signing, Huckabee will also be in Grand Rapids, at rival Schuler Books, pitching his book, "A Simple Christmas."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: HarperCollins

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Bill Clinton to do lunch with Senate Democrats, look at 2010 elections without healthcare reform

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid put out the word last night -- this is a must-attend event.

Former President Clinton, whose presidency and arguably his marriage were clouded by his failure in 1994 to enact healthcare reform, is doing lunch today with Senate Democrats.

His expected topic: what the 2010 elections might look like for Democrats if the Senate fails again to pass healthcare reform.

The weekly lunch is of course closed to reporters, but already speculation is rife that Clinton -- on a mission for the Obama White House -- will focus his attention on the moderates whose votes could prove pivotal.

And he has personal ties to most of them. Clinton knew Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson when they both were governors. There's the Arkansas connection to the state's two Democratic senators -- Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor. And he and Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman were once close personally. Of course that was before Clinton was impeached for lying about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which Lieberman decried as immoral.

Here's a younger Clinton, addressing Congress on healthcare in 1993.

Then as now, as MSNBC's First Read noted, "Clinton's at his best when he's giving others political advice, and he excels at framing an argument better than just about anyone on the political stage today."

Aside from politics, no word yet on what they are having for lunch.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: President Obama and former President Clinton at the Boston funeral for Sen. Ted Kennedy. Credit: Getty Images

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Scozzafava, the moderate banished by conservatives, vows to fight for the soul of the GOP

Last week, she dropped out of the race for New York's 23rd congressional district, throwing her support (with a friendly push from the Obama White House)  to the eventual winner, Democrat Bill Owens. The move was a political stunner, an attempt to thwart conservative Doug Hoffman, who was surging in the polls after attracting support from such heroes of the right as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and setting off a blood feud within the Republican Party between pragmatists and ideologues.

This week, in retaliation, Republicans in the Assembly stripped Dede Scozzafava of her leadership position there.

But the moderate Republican assemblywoman, who counts herself a champion of local politics over ideological purity, says she has no regrets and may even run for Congress again -- as a Republican.

"How can Sarah Palin come out and endorse someone who can't answer some basic questions," Scozzafava said in her first lengthy interview in today's Washington Post. "Do these people even know who they are endorsing?"

Bemused by commentators who now use her name as a verb -- as in Florida Gov. Charlie Crist could be "scozzfaved" as a moderate in the Republican Party's bruising Senate primary fight -- she thinks there are more of her than of them.

"There is a lot of us who consider ourselves Republicans, of the Party of Lincoln," she said. "If they don't want us with them, we're going to work against them."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Gary Walts / Washington Post

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So much Obama damage control that David Axelrod even talks to Fox News

Here's how desperate Obama administration spokesmen were Wednesday to fill the info void they'd created by hiding away during the previous night's bad news election returns:

David Axelrod, an ex-newspaper reporter but one of the lead Obama attackers against the Fox News Channel in recent weeks, actually granted an interview to the Fox News Channel. To Major Garrett.

Obama aides knew full well in advance that election night was not going to go well for them and the commentators would connect the dots back to Obama and VP Joe Biden because, well, that pair has been so actively campaigning and money-raising all over.  

So no administration spokesmen appeared during the evening news storm. They passed word ...