Opinion: Huckabee, as usual, scores with a quip

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Long before Mike Huckabee caught the political tailwind now propelling his presidential campaign, he had established himself as fast on his feet during debates. He proved it again during tonight’s CNN/YouTube debate featuring the Republican presidential contenders.

Tyler Overman, from Memphis, posed ‘a quick question for those of you who would call yourselves Christian conservatives. The death penalty. What would Jesus do?’

Huckabee meets that criteria. And, as governor of Arkansas, he signed off on executions. So the question went to him and he began his answer, predictably, by saying carrying out death penalties represented one of the ‘toughest challenges’ he confronted in office.

He continued: ‘I believe there is a place for a death penalty. Some crimes are so heinous, so horrible, that the only response that we as a civilized nation have for a most uncivil action is not only to try to deter that person from ever committing that crime again, but also as a warning to others that some crimes truly are beyond any other capacity for us to fix.’

His words won applause. But moderator Anderson Cooper pressed him, noting, ‘The question from the viewer was, ‘What would Jesus do?’ Would Jesus support the death penalty?’

Huckabee didn’t miss a beat: ‘Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office.’

This time, the crowd laughed long and hard. And once again, Huckabee had demonstrated the rhetorical deftness that has distinguished him from the start.

-- Don Frederick