Huckabee Defends Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Via Ben Smith:

An assist from an unexpected quarter:

"[Y]ou can't hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do," Huckabee says. "It's interesting to me that there are some people on the left who are having to be very uncomfortable with what ... Wright said, when they all were all over a Jerry Falwell, or anyone on the right who said things that they found very awkward and uncomfortable, years ago. Many times those were statements lifted out of the context of a larger sermon. 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.'"

Later, he defended Wright's anger, too:

"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 gonna be probably the only conservative in America who's gonna say something like this, but I'm just tellin' you -- we've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names..."

Watch the video:

Comments

[Ookiecay]

Wow, it's so refreshing to see a politician not afraid to break ranks from the party line in the name of decency. I don't share Huckabee's political views, but I applaud him for being fair-minded.

[creekside]

surprising how he is able to speak so reasonably when he is out of the contest. now if he only believed in evolution...

[gappedtoothgodwarrior]

Actually in some areas he had no trouble speaking decently while he was still in the race. He gave probably the best speech amongst republicans to the Detroit Economic Forum.

He is what he is when it comes to social policy but unlike many an overtly Christian politician Huckabee appears to be a decent individual.

[sugarplum140]

Wow! that was so awesome of Huckabee to defend Obama. I watch Joe every day and he always finds a way to put Obama down. He took everything good about the speech and tried to make a negative scenario. I just bet most if not all of us have had close friends and family members that have had a positive influence in our lives and perhaps that have had the most influence in our lives say a very bad thing about another race, and that includes Joe that we will never throw under the bus. JOE AND AMERICA SHOULD REMEMBER THIS ---RESIGN FROM CONGRESS, HAVE A DEAD AIDE FOUND IN YOUR OFFICE --AND YOU TOO MAY GET YOUR VERY OWN MSNBC TALK SHOW AS JOE DID-- ONLY IN AMERICA And so should Barack NOT be judged b another mans words or beliefs just because he knows him. Which one of us would not be condemned if that were true?

[FairyTale]

I agree Joe seems to put Obama down, but I saw a clip on msnbc.com yesterday where he gave the impression that he is endorsing him. Sometimes, you just cannot tell...

[toby25]

Scarborough is a pretty open minded guy. He really takes no hard view either way. Both Republicans and democrats probably send him negative e-mails.

[julescator]

Joe should change his last name to hannity. I used to watch the show, but now he is showing another side in the way he is saying it's over for Obama and trying to keep this Rev. Wright stuff going. I am through with him. He is not as pure as Obama - he didn't make it in politics because of his OWN personal scandal. Do they have any Black people with shows on MSNBC OR FOX. what's up with that. the hosts are all White, the guest for the most part are all White and we expect them to like Obama? LOL LOL I don't want to see ALL WHITE news shows or ALL BLACK news shows, neither represents AMERICA!

[cls105]

very impressed..

[Melkor]

Wow, funny thing about integrity, sometimes its contagious.

[Ori]

Hear hear ! lets all hope it spreads far and wide.

[toldyaso]

Very classy. Kudos Mr. Huckabee.

[marthlois]

I'M SO PROUD OF MIKE HUCKABEE - HE IS THE EPITOME OF AN OPEN-MINDED/TOLERANT/INTELLIGENT MAN!!!! KUDOS TO YOU! I HOPE WE SEE YOU IN THE POLITICAL ARENA AGAIN. ALTHOUGH I DON'T AGREE WITH SOME OF YOUR EXREMELY CONSERVATIVE VIEWPOINTS, ONE THING BECAME VERY CLEAR AS I WATCHED YOU CAMPAIGN DURING THESE PAST MONTHS - YOU ARE A MAN OF INTEGRITY. I'M SURE YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR SUPPORTERS ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS!

[rzan]

Although I am on the other side of the political spectrum, I have always felt that Mike Huckabee was a fine human being, and his comments prove it. He is a Christian in the truest sense.

I have to also says that this is the first time I have ever heard Joe or watched his show. Is he really that stupid all the time?

[lovethesinner]

Joe stupid?

No. It's much worse than that. He's a shill for Karl Rove. If you'll notice in that clip, not only does Scarborough talk longer than his guest, he used Huckabee's statements about understanding other's perspectives to slip in a race baiting comment about "black students" who were happy that someone shot Reagan. Joe Scarborough spews racist bullshit for three hours every morning.

He makes Don Imus look like Saint Francis of Assisi.

[JTyroler]

At times. At times he can be pretty astute and other times, well...

[nightprowler]

mostly its the other times...

[jsinclair]

He's conducted himself well. True, he doesn't have anything on the line, but he showed refreshing integrity. I'm sure his base wanted him to condemn both Wright AND Obama. Good for him for being more "Christian" than that and showing some moral leadership after all.

Will tv media take note? Unless they're running out of excuses for showing Rev. Wright (for the 2,000,000th time) I doubt it.

[freccia]

Agreed. Huckabee really took a step up in my opinion. Good question about the MSM coverage. Is this going to get reported?

A colleague asked me today whether Obama's race speech would have the larger impact on the pulse of public opinion or the continued repetition of Rev. Wright's outbursts. I argued that unfortunately, most voters don't have the attention span to read 5,000 words or listen/watch the speech in its entirety. On the flipside, they'll be more than willing to sit through an endless stream of Jeremiah Wright clips on CNN.

[brooklyncitizen]

THe one thing Obama and Hucakbee have in common is their Christianity....it teaches you how to treat people well and look to the good in them.It's there, sometimes we have to dig a little deeper.

[DAbraha]

The funny thing is the Clinton's should have come to defend him at this difficult time as someone that has affinity with the black community who have attended so many black churches being from the south and technically living in Harlem. But, they left him out to dry and Bill was trying to defend his race baiting in S.C. by making assertions that he was mugged by the issue. Oh, how classy she would have come out in the heat of this huge issue.

Thank you Mr. Huckabee for being true but you are a few days a little too late.

[newhouse1]

Someone asked why Hillary did not come to the aide of her Democratic teammate (Obama) on this particularly American-historical issue? It's because HRC does not consider BHO her teammate, quite the contrary. He's in the way. Her fatigue at defending the Obama speech, and that she seems to show on her face lately, comes from the realization that based on the rules ALL candidates agreed to, the math does not allow her to win the nomination. Needing 68%+ wins in remaining primaries is daunting, and is only possible with a cataclysmic event wounding Obama personally. But reality bites. Her feckless defense and admiration of McCain should give all Dems pause. If true to her expressed ideals and running under the Democratic banner, such McCain lovefests make zero sense, and belie a treachery where sabotage of a "fellow Dem" as a strategy can only be viewed through a prism of self-first (oh, for all those supporters too). Fair-and-square used to be anecdotal for playing by the rules: humble in winning, gracious in defeat. THERE IS NO, REPEAT, NO JUSTIFICATION for justifying winning by not winning fair and square. Imagine the basketball game where with under a minute remaining, you're losing by 20 points. Of course, all the practices and preparation for the game and emotions conspire to challenge your sense of accepting the loss with grace. But who, taking that game scenario to the level of illogic being demonstrated by HRC, could even remotely imagine "fighting" to have more time put on the clock to allow you to "possibly" score more baskets? The rules are the rules, game is 48 minutes, you're down 20 with under a minute left... accept the outcome, fair-and-square. Better luck next time. Live to fight another day. Whatever. Arguing that, "that's just how politics is played," is simply absurd. If HRC came to Obama's defense expressing that NO candidate should be vilified for Hannity/Limbaugh/Faux News inspired attempts to win on the cheap and denigrate through guilt by association measures, she would have elevated herself to the level of states-woman, and perhaps belatedly, begin rectifying what is wrong with her campaign: the content of her character. Jesus forgave the thief on the adjacent cross to his in his final hours, as well as Peter who would deny him after seeing all He was about for years. The point is, Spiritual Counseling is no less an act when it happens at the scene of an accident and a priest issues last rites to a stranger whose Catholic, or Billy Graham "occasionally" counseling Presidents despite anti-Semitic views, or Rev. Wright who Obama knew for 20 years. You forgive the sinner, not the sin. [We all sin and fall short of the glory of God]. It's Easter people. We need to become better people. Yes we can!

[Merin]

While I strongly disagree with the man's politics, and being an atheist I of course don't agree with his faith, Mike Huckabee has been nothing but the most polite and perfectly cordial of candidates - heck, compared to Huckabee, Obama is a slime-throwing jerk!

He has it right - the media and the pundants and even the public are all too caught up with "someone who likes this candidate said THIS!" What the heck, man, let's not let that mean too much. If you see an organized effort by surrogates in the campaign working for a candidate sliming the other candidate away, yes, you can call that into question - but if you start holding candidates responsible for what their pastors or family members or college professors or former roommates say then politics becomes more of a joke than it's ever been before.

[CrankyCurmudgeon]

I once had a professor who said something like "If I had to choose between someone with the right politics but no humanity, and someone with the humanity but the wrong politics, I'd choose the one with the humanity."

Here's a clear case of a man (Huckabee) who's politics I find reprehensible, but who exhibits more humanity than I've ever seen exhibited by either Hillary Clinton or John McCain. Bravo for him!

[dukeitout]

I knew the Huck was a good guy. He was a preacher and probably has heard hundreds of other preachers make an intended valid point in the same stupid manner. It isn't always what you say but the way you say it that is the real message. Wright was wrong (no pun intended) to speak as he did.

[mponti]

Not a fan of his ideology, but kudos to Huckabee for showing courage in reaching out across party lines to find common ground. He gets Obama's message of hope. Huckabee could just as easily have fallen in line to exploit this issue like his bretheren in the GOP's conservative wing. It's rare to witness such non-partisan leadership, decency and civility when he has nothing to gain.

[priusdriver]

uh, if you need huckafool to defend you, you know you are in trouble.

as others have pointed out, huckabee has never released his sermons (nor apparently tried to sell the DVDs at his church) so who knows how controversial they may have been.

to those who still don't understand why wright is different then falwell -- then you're willfully trying to ignore the facts.

it's a question of judgement and character that he CHOSE to be mentored by wright for 20+ years. he sought him out, knew of his "controversial" comments and did nothing about it.

when you base your no-experience candidacy on judgement -- then you have to live with your choices. this was a horrible choice, one that won't go away.

[Davwbaird]

I like wright he spoke the truth you fracist dingbat.

[POINT84]

Riiiiigggghhhtttt

$110 barrel of oil
foreclosures
War in Iraq
President giving speech same day Osama does
Poor economy
Desecration of the Constitution
Deteriorating infrastructure
Education system
Health care
Environment (eh...we can leave that one out, we're in over our heads)

But a crazy pastor guy gets you riled up? Im sorry, but America needs to wake the f__k up

[highlyamused]

amazin huh?

[Beve83]

lol, wow, do tell, how is Wright different from Falwell, do you REALLY want to go there? Oh they are different alright, waaaaaay different.

[kevami]

some people will just never get it. whenever someone expresses hope in this country, all we can snuggle up with a night is the doom and gloom. is this how people with bad pasts, and weak consciences satisfy themselves and project their own failures. As Huckabee would probably say 'he without sin, cast the first stone'.