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GOD IS MY CO-PILOT, AND MY IOWA FIELD DIRECTOR.
Via Mother Jones, we see that Mike Huckabee is claiming in about as explicit a way as he can that God has engineered his recent rise in the polls:
Isn't that a tad presumptuous? Or is Huckabee just saying that God is giving him a temporary bump in the polls, only to send his campaign crashing down later, in order to demonstrate to His earthly subjects the danger of hubris and the importance of early fundraising?
According to MoJo, Huckabee later tried to backtrack a little bit, saying all he meant was that "when people pray, things happen." I for one want to know much more about Huckabee's views on intercessory prayer as it relates to the duties of the president. If a hurricane threatens the Gulf Coast, will he be asking Americans to ask God to send the hurricane away and instructing FEMA to prepare an emergency response, or only the former?
I'm kidding (a little), but if Huckabee wants to run for president as God's anointed candidate - which he plainly does - than he absolutely deserves to be asked more, and more detailed, questions about his religious beliefs than the rest of field, just as Giuliani should be asked more questions about his plans for further invasions of Middle Eastern countries, Obama should be asked more questions about how exactly he'll be bringing Democrats and Republicans together, and so on.
--Paul Waldman
COMMENTS (7)
One would think that a Baptist preacher would remember the passage in Proverbs, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
Posted by: John in Nashville | December 5, 2007 7:33 PM
Really? Because it sounds like he's talking about Hank Paulson working on Citibank's subprime tranches.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 5, 2007 7:35 PM
Good grief, that was that guy's question? Life imitate The Simpsons. From the episode where Mr. Burns runs for office:
Advisor: Little girl, do you think you can memorize this by dinnertime tomorrow?
Lisa: ``Mr. Burns: your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?''
Advisor: Very good.
Posted by: ed | December 5, 2007 7:42 PM
"when people pray, things happen."
Yes, yes they do.
Posted by: Jason C. | December 5, 2007 8:37 PM
The problem with Huckabee's back-off here - attributing his success to the efficacy of prayer - is that for Christians, there's no channel by which prayer has any effect apart from God's choosing to make it so.
To claim that one's success is based on people's prayers IS to claim that one's success is attributable to God. Period.
Posted by: low-tech cyclist | December 6, 2007 9:13 AM
Speaking of the efficacy of prayer, someone should ask Huck if he prayed about whether to intervene on Wayne Dumond's behalf, and if so, why God didn't give him better guidance.
Posted by: low-tech cyclist | December 6, 2007 9:16 AM
"One would think that a Baptist preacher would remember the passage in Proverbs, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.""
No. One would think and hope that a Baptist preacher would know the second commandment by heart: "thou shall not use God's name in vain!!"
Posted by: Anonymous | December 7, 2007 10:25 AM