Duped

Slick Willy. That's what my Dad always called President William Jefferson Clinton (well, that or Commander in Chief Chicken Little). Now we have another former Arkansas Governor running for the Presidency, and I'm thinking a good name for him might well be Slick Mikey.

This thought struck me while I was watching last nights debate on Fox News. Huckabee, whom I really want to like, I really do, I want to buy into his hype, but that's kinda the point... Anyway, Huckabee always has an answer for everything, but half the time is witty one liners with nothing behind them. And when there is something more to it, when he does delve into the issues, I kind of get the feeling that he's not so much talking about the right and wrong of what should be done, but rather just begging for your vote.

My favorite part of the debate has to be Fred Thompson's serious thumping of Mike Huckabee, and every charge Thompson leveled at Huckabee was true. Thompson couldn't have done much more to Huckabee if he had walked over and socked him in the mouth. For his part, Huckabee used a lot of words and double talk and what not to try to dig out from under the rubble that ole Fred had just dumped on him, and may have confused people enough to get away with it. But that's where the comparrison to Slick Willy comes in. Lots of talk, but not much to back it up.

Personally, I have been glossing over Huckabee's record, just because I liked the guy personally. As I said before, I wanted to believe him, I wanted to buy into what he was selling, I wanted to believe that he was the man for the job. Fortunately I have learned the truth, and the truth has set me free.

The facts are that Huckabee is soft on illegal immigration, and he points to his Faith as the reason why he's willing to sell our security down the river. He wants to be seen as a compassionate Christian, which is all well and good, but I want a strong leader who will put America first in Political decisions, and that means taking a strong and harsh stand to protect us from both terrorism and illegal immigration. I also believe that the wide open borders of this country is one of the biggest national security issues that we face today. Huckabee's record bears out that he will not solve this problem.

Another fact is that Huckabee is a tax and spender. He loves to talk about cutting taxes in Arkansas, and making excuses for the taxes that he raised, but the fact is that taxes were a net increase under his Governance, and State spending increased dramatically. To be fair, some of this was not is fault, some of it was mandated, but not all of it. The fact is that his record is one of big spending, big taxes, and big Government.

All of this reminds me of an interview I once saw with Tom Clancy (the Author of "The Hunt For Red October" among other Epic Political Thriller novels) where he was asked about his opinion of Bill Clinton, and he said that he had met the President once at a baseball game, and something to the effect of, Clinton was one of the most charming people he had ever met, but that was it, there was no depth of Character behind it.

After a lot of thought, and a lot of prayer, Fred Thompson is the guy for me, and will get my vote on January 29th when Florida holds its primary election.

I'll not tell anyone who they should vote for, but I implore you, don't be sucked in by Mike Huckabee's rhetoric, and don't be duped by his claim of being the "Strong Christian" candidate. He is NOT the person that Christians should stake their hopes and dreams on. If you do, you will sadly find that you did not get what you bargained for.

Less seriously, in the previous Fox News Republican Debate something was said about Chuck Norris (who is endorsing Huckabee) waiting outside for the other candidates, to which Fred Thompson responded, "If John Wayne were here I'd have him (Wayne) beat him (Norris) up." Awesome comeback Fred!