Mike Huckabee On Sarah Palin: Katie Couric Was "Extraordinarily Gentle" With Her

Unlike John McCain's daughter Meghan, former GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee doesn't have a policy against talking about Sarah Palin. In an interview with A.J. Jacobs from Esquire released Tuesday, Huckabee refused to join Palin's cabal against Katie Couric, saying the anchor was "extraordinarily gentle, even helpful" to the candidate. Read the excerpt on Palin below from the article.

I ask him if she was treated fairly by the media. "There were a lot of unfair things. Sexist things that would never have been asked of a male candidate." He pauses. "Now I must say I did not think that either the Charlie Gibson interview or the Katie Couric interviews were unfair. In fact, if anything, Katie Couric was extraordinarily gentle, even helpful. [Palin] just...I don't know what happened. I can't explain it. It was not a good interview. I'm being charitable."

He pauses. "I think it was overpreparation. She'd been hammered by McCain's aides, 'Say this, don't say that.' "

Huckabee has met Palin a few times and talked to her backstage at the Republican National Convention.

"Did you give her any advice?"

"I didn't figure that she was shopping for my advice."

"But she sure was shopping."

"Yeah," chuckles Huckabee. Then stays quiet. I set him up for an easy spike, but he holds his tongue.

Comments

[Actongue]

01:25 PM on 01/17/2009

I feel the Media was extremely Gentle with Palin especially since she was for the most part a new player on the block, If it would have been a guy coming from nowhere the media would have been alot harder on the VP selection.

I am on Facebook and there is a Sarah Palin application and I find it amazing how many people state that the Media and especially Couric and Gibson were mean to her. Like many others here have posted they both were easy on her and did not give her any hard questions.

The only person Palin can blame is herself but, as we have seen over the past few months she is unable to accept any blame but always finds room to blame others.

[indy girl]

10:06 AM on 01/17/2009

Dear Hoffington Post,

That mean ol' Mike Huckabee makin' fun of me like I couldn't answer a quistion from the "gotcha media that is so unfair too. If I could just have been talkin' straight to the pro-American peaple and we could alreadie be progressing this great nation under God's plan. Furthermor Huckabee is just cruel and mean spirited and also a big jerk. I cant say no more because I am a good Christin women. Gotta go, one of my peaple says there is some village whinin' and complainin' about the cold or some stuff.

Your's truley,

Sarah Palen
Governor of the Grate State of Alaska

[Horus45]

02:12 PM on 01/19/2009

Too much punctuation to actually be Palin.

Her sentences run on.

[Cybersquirt]

10:13 PM on 01/15/2009

Too bad you can't put that religious stuff aisde, Mike.

[cmp]

12:26 PM on 01/28/2009

Dag! you know it. Keep spewing about God, good christian values and religeous patriotic americans and you can stick it where the sun don't shine. I had 8 years of a good ole christian man.

[shotgunblast]

07:12 PM on 01/15/2009

She's a not ready for prime player. All she has done since the election is whine and complain.

[peacegurl48]

06:10 PM on 01/15/2009

Alright Mike!

[wastelandusa]

01:50 PM on 01/15/2009

Huckabee touches on a great point. Palin will probably whine for the rest of her life about how she was treated by the 'Major Media'. But in reality, if you think about, she was let off fairly easy.
You can go through the list of all her blunders, right on down the line, and pretty much at no point during the entire campaign was she ever really absolutely FORCED to answer a question. Bush Doctrine, Russians Flying over Alaska, What she reads, the Bailout, etc... nobody ever put her in a corner and said, 'You can't slip by this... ANSWER the question, I'm forcing you to make sense here.'

[jalowe1957]

01:30 PM on 01/15/2009

At least Mike Huckabee had he good sense to distance himself from Typhoid Sarah.

[LibKitty]

02:31 PM on 01/15/2009

He just doesn't want to share the righteous right vote with her in 2012. It's best to get her out the way as soon as possible.

[FlamingLibrul]

01:05 PM on 01/15/2009

Something not often mentioned (conveniently), is that Katie Couric's Supreme Court decisions question was supposed to be a total freebie, easy-peasy gift to Palin. See, Sarah had not-that-long-ago, disagreed with a Supreme Court decision, titled Exxon v. Baker, that reduced punitive damages for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The fact that Palin couldn't even dig that particular case out of her memory bank, just goes to show how unprepared she was for the national stage. She's not doing that great as Governor of Alaska either.

[clearlythinking]

12:52 PM on 01/15/2009

I have to admit there are things about Huckabee I like. If only we didn't hold completely opposite views on everything under the sun I could vote for him. I will say, he looked terribly uncomfortable at the RNC listening to Rudy and Sarah speak. He looked as if he wished he wasn't there to hear all that nastiness. While I consider his political and religious views extreme there seems to be a shred of decency that others don't have. He's not down in the mud slinging like Sarah, Rudy and the rest and is willing to admit when the "star" of the party tarnished herself pretty badly. Of course, that could part of his plan for 2012 - who knows?!

[TurtleGuy]

06:02 PM on 01/16/2009

I've been saying that for a while. Huckabee is the only current GOP member with a high profile that I would consider even voting for. I agree w/ him on very little issues wise, but he strikes me as just a decent human being who would be fun to talk to. It's fun when he is on Maher's show, he laughs at the off color jokes, admits when one of his fellow debaters has a good point that doesn't agree w/ his. He at least gives the impression that he is willing to listen to others. May not be the actual case, but that's the impression I get anyways.

[clearlythinking]

11:29 PM on 01/16/2009

Yea, I wonder about him. John Stewart really went after him on gay marriage, etc. and he was willing to talk about it. His arguments are pathetic in my opinion but he at least comes across as accepting that others have a differing viewpoint. Usually, I feel like it's "I'm right and liberals are bad" but not with him. It must be the minister in him.

[newdreams]

11:39 AM on 01/15/2009

Anyone trying to condemn Katie Couric should know better - It will not stick. Couric's credibilty with women of any political party is very strong. Given the chance, Palin would obviously do herself in every time. Huckabee is smart to start distancing himself from her.

[hortonhearsawho2]

10:52 AM on 01/15/2009

asking Who is Sarah, Condemns Me...

[hortonhearsawho2]

10:50 AM on 01/15/2009

It's never Todd on Sarah...Right.

[den1953]

09:59 AM on 01/15/2009

Please Please Please leave Sarah alone she didn't do anything wrong she can't help she is in the spot light Damm You John McCain Please Leave her alone she has her life to live!!! Oh well it worked for Brittney???? HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

[indypete]

11:48 AM on 01/15/2009

Maybe Silly Sally should shave her head.... That worked for Brittney too!

[mariadozer]

09:30 AM on 01/15/2009

Maybe Katie should've asked her what her favorite cartoon is. I bet she could've answered that tough question.

[hortonhearsawho2]

10:50 AM on 01/15/2009

after conferring with Piper...

[me again]

12:11 PM on 01/15/2009

Bullwinkle the moose.....

[lstl4]

08:48 AM on 01/15/2009

Wow, a republican that tells the truth. That is a new concept, but then again, doesn't he want to be the leader of the republican party just like Palin? I thought Charlie's interview was terrible. He talked down to her and did ask gotcha questions, but Katie's questions were very fair. Sarah has a chip on her shoulder and comes off as if everyone is picking on her. She will never go anywhere with that attitude, which is good because she doesn't deserve it. She needs to educate herself so she can answer questions concerning our government and its history. Why are we still talking about Palin anyway?

[indypete]

11:50 AM on 01/15/2009

Nobody asked her "gotcha" questions..... She painted herself into all the corners.