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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Huckabee fights back

Posted: Saturday, December 29, 2007 4:22 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC’s Andy Merten and NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy
Huckabee certainly isn’t afraid to stand up for himself -- or his political rivals.

Responding to dual attack ads released by the Romney campaign yesterday, which targeted Huckabee in Iowa and McCain in New Hampshire, the former Arkansas governor today defended not only his own honor, but that of the Arizona senator’s.

“It’s not the most pleasant position to be in,” Huckabee said about the Romney ad that hits his record on spending, immigration, and sentence commutations for inmates. And using the matter-of-fact wit that has helped endear him to Iowans, he continued: “If I believe even half the stuff that’s in those ads, I probably wouldn’t even vote for myself, much less expect you to.”

But he didn’t stop there. As he did yesterday, he defended McCain from a twin attack ad that was released in New Hampshire. “Look, John McCain is a rival in the presidential race, but John McCain is an honorable, decent, true to heaven American hero.” 

“It’s like Mitt doesn’t have anything to stand on -- except to stand against,” he addded.

Also, an independent group has launched a Web site called Trust Huckabee, which debuts with a video mocking Romney’s evolving views on abortion. The video, which adopts the same format of Romney’s recent attack ads, shows clips of the former Massachusetts governor’s conflicting statements on the issue, with a man laughing hysterically in the background.

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Years ago Romney supported abortion, now he doesn’t. This seems to be the main reason why Romney is called into question about not having convictions. Huckabee’s stand on issues:

1) He hasn’t a clue on foreign policy by his many mistatments since the Pakastan assasination.
2) He is lax on immigration by his record as governer.
3) He hates religion’s that are not his own.
4) He has one of the worst tax raising records.
5) He won’t take back is comment to isolate Aides patients.
6) Takes speaking money from abortion and other liberal groups.
7) Seems to think it okay to let go rapists and murders, has one of the worst pardon records around.

Any wonder the Democrates are being quiet on Huckabee with him leading in Iowa?  Though the Democrates have no problem laying into Romney and Guiliani.

— Posted by cbk
It's "not" to late, come take a looksie ...hillaryclinton.com
rommney is just like most rich boys, trying to win with money, well that won't get it anymore, this is the election of the net, and every christian is spreading the word for Huckabee, rommey will die in his rich shoes but maybe he has 12 wives to pick him up.
Mike Huckabee is the real thing, i have re newed my faith in God and this country because of him.  Win or lose America is so much better off to have had an opportunity to know him. We are so overdue for morals in this country we are about to lose it. Imagine Hillary Clinton leading our country.  She parades her druggie perverted husband in our faces, and embaraces her poor daughter who has to live with their sleazy past. How easy America forgets.  If you want to remember go Clintons Scandals and No Hillary Clinton I was shocked.
One of the traditional strengths of the Republican Party has been its expertise regarding international relations - but not anymore!! I can't believe these incompetent responses, especially Huckabee's response, to the recent events in Pakistan.
Huck is ok with me.  But a minister shouldn't be president of the US.
Well here's the thing- if you're not comfortable with a candidate changing his mind on the issues, then don't vote for Gov. Romney.  McCain, Huck, and Guiliani have been wrong on the issues for years and fail to change.

Romney is rich, but he has earned every penny of his own wealth.  Yeah, he was brought up in a wealthy environment which allowed him to take advantage of the benefits, but he's not some snob who's always been given everything he wants.

I'm an evangelical Christian and I cringe at the thought of a President Huck.  Being a Christian doesn't make you a good leader.
C.B. I WOULD NEVER GET THAT IMMORAL  JUST ONE OF MANY BAD THINGS, SHE FORCED JANET RENO TO RAM THE COMPOUND IN WACO AND BURN THOSE CHILDREN ALIVE.  HER JUSTIFICATION TO RENO BILL HAD TO SHOW SOME AUTHORITY. DAVID KORESH WENT TO TOWN EACH DAY AND COULD BE ARRESTED ANYTIME, BUT HILLARY WAS INTERESTED IN ELECTIONS, NOT THOSE POOR CHILDREN.  THIS IS THE MOST EVIL WOMAN IN THE WORLD.


Romney is a chapped fingered blow who is the spit image of Bill Clinton, slick and with all that money from who?  To LIndons points :

1.  mike Huckabee's knowledge of forei\gn affairs is extraordinary.  Read this:  http://my.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=507

2.  A Governor is not a Federal Power.  Mike as Governor had to deal with the failings of the federal Government on immigration.  A job of a Governor is much different then that of President in that The constitution is the rules and Mike did his best for humanity as a Governor.  If you examine all of his dealings with Arkansas in the illegal issues, you will find a most honorable man.

3.  Your attack on Mike's faith stand as a Christian is no different then any other Christian.  He is also very much an ardent supporter of the Constitution on the first amendment as written, including all the amendments 2nd amendment importantly as a protection from tyranny.

4.  Your statement on Mike's fiscal record is a lie.  You have nothing.  If you investigate all the truth on Mike's 10.5 years as Governor of Arkansas, you will find that during that time, his state went up in taxes less then 50% of the average per state nation wide during the same 10.5 years.  Mike was nominated one of the best Governor's Nationally.  Mike is for the Fair Tax.   What is Washington insiders biggest fear of mike Huckabee?  It is his conservative platform and his constitutionalist federalist approach to the Truth.  It is the Truth they are afraid of.  The Washington dance will be over.  Mike will shut down the spin machine that has led us to this abyss we are at and Mike will use the bully pulpit to make the American people the majority whip over congress.  

5.  On Aids, Mike spoke to it.  He stated that as Governor, with the knowledge at the time, he considered the protecting of his people of the State as more important then a political wind.  Mike has stated he was wrong in that stand and has come out in full support of combating Aids worldly, to stop it's blight on us all.

6.  Mike spoke to the campaign funding, stating that he is dependent on grassroots support , not large corporate funding and at times he will get support that is from illogical camps.  Mike has campaigned on 5% of what  Romney has spent and is in first place.  It is Huckabee's platform that is winning, not some slick campaign promise without truth.

7.  Gov. Huckabee's record in Arkansas on clemency and parole is a Statesman doing his job.  Romney's is one who has his finger in the wind, doing what is best for Romney , not the people he serves.  Get real.

8.  The democrats are not afraid of Huckabee.  They are in shock of him.  They are afraid to move.  He will be taking many voters from them.  I have spoken to endless numbers of democrats that are calling themselves independents just to vote for Mike.  

Have a Good Day and I suggest you read Mike's positions on the issues tab at his web,  www.mikehuckabee.com and welcome aboard.
Huckabee says he is not running a negative campaign yet it is clear that he is by taking shots at Romney's faith and now calling him "dishonest". His comments are belittling are definitly more negative than Romney's ads which merely state differences.

McCain is doing the same thing by calling Romney a "Phoney" in his new ad.  Mitt's ads are not mean-spirited like his opponents repsonses have been to the so called "negative" ads.

Go Mitt!
DAVID ANDERS PHARR,TX... 12 wives?  Isn't there something in the Bible about not bearing false witness?  Might want to look it up.
What's wrong with telling the people of Iowa and NH about what Huck and McCain did with their stewardship while in public office.  If you made bad decisions, but you don't want people to know about it, just call your opponents ads, "Attack Ads".
I'm sorry RGeorgeDunn, but it was hard to get past the first point you made, and yes I did go the link and read it.  Incidentally he got the quote wrong, Sun-tzu didn't say that, it was a character from "The Godfather". (can't even get his sources correct)

A few days ago I might have believed you that Huckabee has any clue about foreign affairs, and I'm sure he's a good guy, but the past few days has PROVEN that he a) does not have a clue about foreign affairs, and b) tries to politicize and write off his gaffes to score points with people (his own campaign admitted it).

If Mike Huckabee is the best America can do, we've got some serious problems. I know our educational system in America isn't great, but come on! I like the guy, but he's not Presidential material.
Um... isn't Huckabee the same guy that raised taxes in his state even more than Bill Clinton?

http://www.taxhikemike.org/
DAVID ANDERS, chill out with the posts. Three in one forum? Huckabee is toast - deal with it.  Glad he has renewed your faith in America.  Now put that to good use and support a candidate who is an actual conservative, assuming that's what you are.
Oh Yes, We all can't wait for Romney to get the nomination so he can send out those weird people in the White short sleeve shirts, Black Ties and pocket protectors pretending to preach and sell magazines. That alot to look forward to.
GO TO CHURCH C ALFONDRE   LAST I LOOKED HUCKABEE WAS 10 UP IN IOWA AND LEADING GULLIANI NATIONALLY, IF YOU CAN'T READ THERE IS THE DEMOCRAT PARTY.
God forbid Hillary get the nomination, I heard she plans to get Janet Reno out of a Nursing Home in Florida for a comeback at D.O.J. at least Reno would probably do a better job than Alfredo did.
Gov. Romney's first choice for a running-mate is Sen. Larry Craig, There moto will be "Minneapolis Here We Come Again"
You know what makes me laugh, is that while both Huck and McCain whine about the "attack ads" neither one of them can come back with anything accept "Mitt Romney is just a big meany"  You know why, because everything Mitt says is TRUE.  Also, every idiot on these blogs who are against Mitt because he is rich has got to be kidding.   Would your really trust the future of this country to a guy who can't pay his light bill.  Or do you want a guy who can not only ammass a fortune 10 times that of say, John Edwards, create tens of thousands of American jobs, Take the olympics from a 400 million dollar deficit to a 55 million dollar profit, balance the buget of MA when they had a 3 Billion dollar deficit and is willing to run the Olympics, Massachusets, and the United States for free.  Yeah that Romney hes just a rich stinking pig whos in it for the money.  

get over your prejudice and look at the facts.  Romney is amazing.  
And the lame criticisms go on and on. Many of these commenters must be taking their cues from their hero, Mitt. Bash Huckabee without facts and hope that if you lie long enough someone will believe it. Maybe Mitt should run on a ticket with Hillary. They're starting to look like a perfect match.
Hey, the best news of the campaign is the apparent disappearnce of the Paulbots who littered every comments page with tons of messages all saying the same thing, even if they had nothing to do with the story.  None on here so far.  I think the Paulie Girls disappeared after his disatrous performance on "Meet the Press" last Sunday. He claimed the Civil War was a mistake and that the slaves should have waited to be freed.  Then Russert hit him with facts showing all of his earmarks -- apparently Mr. Small Govt is the biggest porker in Washington.  Paul looked like he was going to wet his Depends.  Priceless.
How does Mr. theologion Huck explain that we do not punish the children of parents who have broken the law by rewarding these children with our tax dollars.  He claims they have earned it. Well Adam and Eve broke the law and their children have been punished and the only way their children can get back into God's presence is through grace, it cannot be earned. Seems Huck has missed the mark here, in order to promote his great compassion on the back of us tax payers. What other great programs of compassion are we to see from Huck all in the name of children?
HUCKABEE CAN FIGHT BACK ALL HE WANTS BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE RNC, WHITEHOUSE AND MEDIA WANTS ROMNEY. WHEN YOU SEE BUSH SR. ON STAGE WITH ROMNEY, FOX NEWS GOING AFTER HUCKABEE AND NOW THE REST OF THE MEIDA HUCKABEE WILL NOT WIN JUST LIKE HILLAY WON'T WIN.
Careful David Anders the men in whitecoats and butterfly nets will get you.
Romney, Dispite the craftiness of liberal bigoted  journalism you are the best thing that could happen to America. These are not attack ads made out of desperation. Someone has to put the facts clearly out there, we all know the media is not doing it.
Go Romney!!!
Perhaps the most frightening, but little known of Huckabee's foreign policy objectives is his bold plan for a "one-state solution" for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

No, it's not a bi-national state, where everyone would share the land, but an all Jewish state; the Pals would get their own state, but it would be located in Egypt or in Saudi Arabia.

Huckabee is a Southern Baptist cleric who believes that the Jews are God's Chosen People and that all of Biblical Palestine is their Promised Land, by Divine Right.

Huck's crazy "solution" for the conflict proves that he would base US foreign policy on the Bible, not the US Constitution.

Rev. Huck fervently believes that Israel's national interests are absolutely and  completely congruent with US national interests.

Don't take my word for it, read all about it at this reputable site, The Jewish Russian Telegraph.com; here's the link:

http://www.jrtelegraph.com/2007/10/gov-mike-huckab.html

If Armageddon is the goal, Reverend Huckabee is the perfect choice for US President.
Trevor NH.. Don't be too sure that Huckabee is a nice guy. He comes across to me as a snake oil salesman. He fired his chief of state police because he wouldn't cover up his son's crime of lynching a stray cat. Now he thinks he is anointed by the All Mighty to rid the world of non believers.
Rufus sure your name isnt rastus, you have a job?
Let's all face reality, Gov. Romney is a male clone of Hillary Clinton. Regardless of what he says now, He is or was pro-choice, He is or was pro-gun control and has a different mis-interpretation of history and what has really happened and what he has dreamed up or wished happened. He has had no choice but to go negative in Iowa because obviously money or nothing else he has to say seems to be working for him.  I've lived in the South for the last 16 yrs. He will never win in S.C., I'm from N.H. orginally and trust me the people in N.H. and else where see right through Gov. Romney's used car salesman and TV Anchorman techniques.
rufus please stop parroting what you hear everybody say about mike.
i totally agree that mike has it right- mitt doesn't have anything to stand on just things to take underhanded jabs at.
ive been sayin that all along.
mike all the way!!!
I am sure this following article will help understand
with rather objective perspective.
Newsweek takes a look at the Romney campaign's latest ad.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/80949


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