Say it ain't so, NPR!

National Public Radio will be much poorer for firing news analyst Juan Williams today.

Apparently, they didn't like some remarks he made recently during an appearance on FoxNews.

Ye socks may recall NPR as the same network who keeps Nina Totenberg on the air after she wished AIDS on the grandchildren of a conservative senator.

It's a shame when some of the most vocal advocates for freedom of speech are only so vocal when it is convenient and gibes with their own political agenda.

I wish Mr. Williams success wherever he lands following this dismissal. He's sure to get better ratings than anyone he leaves behind at NPR.

Primary endorsements - part 1

With just a few weeks left before we head to the polls in this little corner of heaven, yours truly has received his official "sample ballot" in the mail and begun researching the candidates.

Thought I'd spend the next few days figuring out who to vote for.

Keep in mind, the posts will be limited in scope by ye olde party affiliation and official residence.

The first race is for the Republican nomination to become the next Florida Attorney General.

The candidates are attorney Pam Bondi, former Hillsborough County legislator Holly Benson, and Jeff Kotkamp (the current lieutenant governor).

I know this may be irrational, but Kotkamp immediately gets scratched off my list due to his association with Charlie Crist. Unfair? Maybe. But, it is what it is.

Couldn't find out much about Benson, but do recognize Pam Bondi from her occasional commentary on FoxNews. I also liked what I saw on her website (www.pambondi.com) about how she will continue Bill McCollum's fight against imposing ObamaCare on Floridians. And, she had some good things to say about preventing mortgage fraud and identity theft. I'm ready to give her a shot at the job.

Seriously?! THAT is my congressman?!

It'll cure what ails ya

I'm still battling a sinus infection down here.

This morning, despite the pain and discomfort, I was determined not to let it slow me down and keep me home bound for another weekend. So, I forced myself to drive downtown to a Huckabee campaign meeting. (Big news: the state hq is supposed to be opening right here in Orlando on Monday morning!!) But, about an hour and a half into things, a coughing fit overtook me, and I had to make a hasty exit. Kinda embarassing, actually, because I know my flight to the door distracted the speaker. Oh, well, hopefully she's amongst the socks reading this and will now understand the reasons and accept my apologies . . .

Anyway, the coughing subsided enough by the time I got back to Apopka, that I was able to run in to the Winn Dixie to pick up a few things to soothe my aches and pains. You know, chicken noodle soup, etc.

But, if you really want to know what is making me feel even better than all that store-bought stuff, it is the Republican forum they just had on FoxNews tonight.

After seeing it, I will not be surprised on Tuesday if Huck doesn't lap Romney and come in second up in New Hampshire. Old Mitt is really wounded after Iowa, and McCain (among others) really let him have it.

I particularly liked it when McCain laughingly acknowledged the Mittster as the "candidate of change" in the Republican field. Not because he's bringing new ideas to the table, or anything like that. Rather, because he changes his convictions on things like the sanctity of life depending on what audience he is addressing . . . that left the former Massachusetts governor stone-faced. Just beautiful!!

And, of course, Mike Huckabee delivered another stellar performance.

So, hopefully tomorrow I'll feel well enough to finally take down the Christmas tree . . . we'll see!

Florida Loves Huckabee!

That is according to the latest Rasmussen Poll which found GOP voters in the state support the following candidates in the 1/29/08 primary:

27% Huckabee (+18% since November's poll)
23% Romney (+4%)
19% Giuliani (-8%)
9% Thompson (-7%)
6% McCain (-4%)

So, what do these numbers tell us? Is McCain losing people to Romney? Is Huckabee drawing support away from everyone else? Who knows?

What the numbers do tell us is the momentum each candidate enjoys (or doesn't) in the Sunshine State. And, clearly, Mike Huckabee is outshining everyone else. Keep in mind, he was only registering 3% support down here as recently as September. So, for him to rise to the top of the pack in just three months is truly an amazing statement about his campaign. And, I'd like to think this little corner of the blogosphere contributed a little bit to the trajectory.

The other piece of news out of the Huckabee camp today was Ed Rollins is joining the team as National Director. Political junkies will remember that name as belonging to the man who orchestrated the most successful presidential campaign EVER back in 1984, when his strategies earned Ronald Reagan the electoral votes of 49 states. (Only his never-to-be-mentioned opponent's home state of Minnesota and the wayward District of Columbia fell to the Dems that year.)

Expect both the poll numbers and Ed Rollins to be discussed tonight when Huckabee and his buddy Chuck Norris appear on The O'Reilly Factor. (8pm on FoxNews, replayed at 11pm.)

Go, Mike, go!

Les gustan Huckabee en Miami

For ye non-Cuban socks in the dryer, that means "They like Huckabee in Miami."

This statement is made following last night's GOP debate broadcast on Spanish language station Univision, at which former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee once again wowed the crowd.

If you need further proof, note who joined the governor for breakfast this morning at La Carreta Restaurant in Miami:

Marco Rubio, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives

and

David Rivera, chairman of the Rules Committee in the state legislature.

These two gentlemen are arguably the two most influential Hispanics in Florida state government.

And, they both formally endorsed Mike Huckabee in his campaign to become the next President of the United States.

He won them over not only with his stellar performance on Univision last night, but also because he shares their pro-family persepectives and demonstrated his commitment to freeing nearby Cuba from the shackles of Castro-style communism.

If the momentum continues in this direction, watch Rudy Giuliani's numbers here in the Sunshine State continue to fall as folks flock to Huckabee.

Oh, and try to catch Mike on Hannity & Colmes tonight at 9pm.

Go, Mike, go!

Huckabee wins St. Petersburg debate!

Apparently, I was not alone in that assessment. The Florida Chamber of Commerce polled the audience last night, and came up with the following figures when they asked who won:

MIKE HUCKABEE - 44%
Rudy Giuliani - 18%
Mitt Romney - 13%
John McCain - 10%
Fred Thompson - 5%
Ron Paul - 4%
Duncan Hunter - 1%
Tom Tancredo - 1%
Undecided - 4%

The most fun to be had, though, was observing the political pundits' response to Huck's great performance.

Andrew Sullivan over at The Atlantic apparently couldn't understand how someone could be so comfortable talking about his faith in public, and arrogantly dismissed it as "religious schtick."

CNN's analyst Jeffrey Toobin gave Huck credit for being the best debater, but went on to say he "lacked seriousness" for pledging to abolish the IRS. Well, Mr. Toobin, he is indeed serious about that. It's called "The Fair Tax." Look into it.

Anyway, if you want to get an unfiltered view of the debate, you can watch our favorite presidential candidate as he makes his rounds on the cable news networks tonight:

4:15pm - CNN - "The Situation Room," with Wolf Blitzer.
5:00pm - MSNBC - "Hardball," with Chris Matthews.
10:00pm - FoxNews - "On the Record," with Greta van Susteren.

O'Reilly owes Dick Morris a steak dinner!

Earlier this year, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly pooh-poohed Dick Morris when he was singing the praises of my favorite presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

O'Reilly even went so far as to say if Huckabee ever broke 10% in a national Rasmussen poll, that he'd take Morris out for a steak dinner.

Well, guess what happened today?!

I'm asking all you socks in the dryer to hold O'Reilly to his pledge by sending him an email at:

oreilly@foxnews.com

Tell him he owes Dick Morris a steak dinner, and he (and the rest of the media) need to start paying some serious attention to the Huckabee campaign!

Authenticity, Sincerity, and Candor

Those are the three words former House Speaker Newt Gingrich used while speaking to the National Press Club in Washington today to describe Mike Huckabee's campaign to become our next president.

Newt gets it.

The national media does not. At least, not yet.

Witness Bill Sammon on FoxNews tonight, who framed the contest underway in Iowa in terms of Romney v Giuliani and implied that Huckabee is simply angling for a VP nod. Tripe!

What Huckabee IS doing is what people like Gingrich and millions of others across this country have been wanting to see for a long time: He's growing as a candidate with each passing day. He's speaking in terms of patriotism over partisanship. And, hopefully, he will (as Newt predicted) emerge as the most interesting dark horse candidate in American history.

Cynical reporters like Sammon assume that Huckabee steers away from attacks on the other candidates, because he is shooting for #2.

Clearly, Sammon doesn't know much about Mike Huckabee.

And, if last Sunday's debate in Des Moines is any barometer of true feelings in Iowa, Sammon won't be the only pundit with a surprised look on his face after the Ames straw poll.

Huckabee is better at communicating and connecting with an audience than any candidate out there--in either party. Those strengths should take him to the top of the GOP slate and on to the White House.

Character Makes a Difference

That's the title of Mike Huckabee's awesome book. [ISBN 978-0-8054-4677-7] (Shameless plug: It's only slightly less-awesome than my own recent book.)

You may remember Mike not only for winning my ringing endorsement is several prior posts, but also for being the best governor Arkansas ever had. Bar none.

Anyway, I tossed-aside all the negative energy the financial markets have been trying to burden me with lately, and actually spent some of my hard-earned money to buy a copy.

And, I have not been disappointed.

I'm more than half way done with it already, page 135. And, the more I read his words, the more I'm convinced THIS MAN NEEDS TO BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT!

This was reaffirmed during his appearance on Fox News this afternoon, and I'm sure will be again tomorrow afternoon when he appears on CNN's "Situation Room."

Go, Mike, go!

Huckabee on Cavuto

Well, Huckabee on Fox news anyway. Neil Cavuto was mysteriously absent this afternoon. But, his fill-in had a pretty good interview with my favorite presidential candidate.

They started off talking about why the Republican congress got fired last year: over-spending, corruption, and failure to adequately handle Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. But, the worst of the three, they agreed, was over-spending. The Huckster says one way the GOP can regain credibility is to get back to its roots and advocate much-needed spending cuts.

Pseudo-Cavuto (don't you like how that rhymes?!) tried to place some of the spending blame on President Bush, noting how Gerald Ford (of all presidential examples) managed to veto 7 GOP spending bills during his short term. And, he had a point. W hasn't vetoed any to date. But, Mike assured him El Presidente will indeed be "spilling some ink" on future bills, if the Democrats follow-thru on their much crazier spending projections.

Then, the fill-in tried to grill Huckabee for the "D" rating he received from the conservative Cato Institute for over-spending during his term as Governor of Arkansas. Mike came right back with an "F" for Cato's grading process. He says they try to apply a rigid template to all 50 states without taking into account that each government has its own spending procedures, especially as relate to federal mandates. If you go back and look at how Huckabee spent money over which he had actual power to exercise discretion, he deserved an "A."

Finally, the former governor made a pitch for the Fair Tax. Although he claimed a 7-year old running a lemonade stand could understand it, I'm still not sure about it myself. He says it will save $250 billion in current compliance costs, not to mention bringing back an estimated $10 trillion (yes, trillion with a "T") from offshore accounts. And, he's looking forward to the day when he (as president, of course!) will have the pleasure of hanging a "Going Out of Business" sign at the IRS.

All in all, a good appearance.

But, I would've preferred to see a tete-a-giant-tete between Mike and Neil . . .

Go, Mike, go!

I don't know how many of you socks were able to catch Gov. Mike Huckabee on Hannity & Colmes this Monday, but the more I hear from him the more I like him. Here are a few of the things he had to say:

1. On the war in Iraq - He disagrees both with the "shock and awe" theory of the hawks and the "cut and run" cries from the left. Instead, he advocates a new policy of "snatch and grab."

2. On leadership - True leaders don't make decisions based on public opinion polls. Those that do, are just "thermometers," gauging the heat of a given issue. What America needs is more "thermostats," people who won't just tell you how hot it is but will actually try to do something to change the temperature.

3. On tax reform - Our federal tax system is broken and won't be fixed with the tap of a hammer, twist of a screw driver, or a little duct tape. It needs a complete overhaul.

Now, some critics will say Huckabee is a little glib with his remarks. And, I suppose they may be perceived as a little jingoistic. But, keep in mind that he has a proven record of putting his philosophies into action as Governor of Arkansas.

With Giuliani's liberalism, McCain's age, and Romney's questionable credentials, I find Huckabee to be a beacon of light in this otherwise muddled field of GOP candidates.

If you'd like to find out more about Mike, check out his campaign website at: http://www.mikehuckabee.com/