Update: (H/T to turneresq) Huckabee issued an apology.
Huck Apologizes.
During my speech at the N.R.A., a loud noise backstage, that sounded like a chair falling, distracted the crowd and interrupted my speech. I made an off hand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama.
I apologize that my comments were offensive. That was never my intention."
"The jobs are never coming back, the illegals are never going home, but we're gonna have a lot more wars." -Pat Buchanan on John McCain
by turneresq on Fri May 16, 2008 at 05:16:29 PM PDT
Original post below the fold.
Original Title: Huck should apologize to Barack, but here's why we should cut him some slack
Of course, Huckabee's attempted 'joke' with the NRA crowd was a sick one. He should apologize to Obama for it.
However, in my opinion, Huckabee should be cut some slack on this and his remarks be treated as an instance of the "foot in the mouth" syndrome instead of something vile. Why? Because it seems that Huckabee really likes Barack and vice versa and Huckabee courageously and conscientiously defended Obama on the Wright controversy back in March.
The mutual admiration between Barack and Huck goes back at least to last September.
September 27, 2007
Obama has another fan... Mike Huckabee
Posted: 08:20 PM ET
BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) — In the spin room, after the PBS All-American Presidential Forum at Morgan State University, Mike Huckabee, R-Arkansas, was asked who was his favorite Democratic candidate in the 2008 presidential race.
"Well, I'd like for all of them to quit," Huckabee initially responded to laughter.
Then, Huckabee explained that when Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, appeared on "the Daily Show," the popular Democrat said he thought Huckabee was the most interesting Republican in the 2008 White House race.
"So let me return the favor and say that since he's been so gracious to me, I will say, you know, I find him to be the most interesting Democrat and maybe we'll end up on the stage together one day," Huckabee said.
There are actually many other instances where Huck said nice things about Obama.
More substantively, in March, Huckabee got Obama's back on the then brewing Wrigtboating of Obama:
From: Huckabee Defends Obama ... and the Rev. Wright, by Jake Tapper, March 19, 2008
MIKE HUCKABEE: There are two different stories -- one is Obama’s reaction, the other one is the Rev. Wright’s speech itself. And I think that, you know, Obama has handled this about as well as anybody could. And I agree, it’s a very historic speech.
...
And I thought he handled it very, very well.
And he made the point, and I think it's a valid one, that you can't hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do. You just can't -- whether it's me, whether it's Obama, anybody else. But he did distance himself from the very vitriolic statements.
...
Sermons, after all, are rarely written word-for-word by pastors like Rev. Wright, who are delivering them extemporaneously, and caught up in the emotion of the moment. There are things that sometimes get said, that if you put them on paper and looked at them in print, you'd say, "Well, I didn't mean to say it quite like that.
...
SCARBOROUGH: But what's the impact on voters in Arkansas? Swing voters.
HUCKABEE: I don't think we know. If this were October, I think it would have a dramatic impact. But it's not October. It's March. And I don't believe that by the time we get to October this is going to be the defining issue of the campaign and the reason that people vote.
And one other thing I think we've got to remember: As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say, "That's a terrible statement," I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I'm going to be probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you: We've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told, "You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had a more, more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.
That's an honest and accurate rebuttal of the Wrightboating of Obama. His comments also show compassion and understanding in the matter of racial tensions.
Need I say more as to why we should cut Huckabee some slack on his lame "joke?" I think Obama would if asked about this.