The Politics of Principles

Back in November, when Obama was pulling low (7 points behind Hillary in the Iowa polls, and 26 points behind Hillary in the National polls), I stepped out onto a limb and said:

"I think if Obama can rip through the gossamer-thin film of 'inevitability' surrounding Hillary Clinton, he will be President .... Which is not to say Barack Obama is going to have a cake walk. He's going to be Swift-boated by the folks at Fox and by the whispering campaigns of right-wing emailers who will pass on what they think are clever nigger jokes laced with suggestions that the Senator from Illinois is really a Muslim fanatic in drag .... There's only one problem with that attack plan: Barack Obama. The more you see of this guy, the more you realize how incredibly solid he is. As time goes on, more and more people are going to pay attention, and the folks making the sniping comments about race and name are going to look smaller and smaller until at last they both reveal and embarrass themselves at the same time."

Looking at the Republican side of the ticket, I gave a nod to Mike Huckabee (at the time down 2 points in Iowa and 15 points Nationally) noting that he was not only a hunter and conservationist, but also someone whose unwillingness to apologize about his Christian roots was a strong plus: '[I]sn't it the least bit refreshing to have a candidate who actually believes in something and will not back-pedal on everything?'

So far so good, but Huck needs to check his messaging a little bit, or else he's going to "step in it" and drag it through the living room. America is fine with faith, but we do not like our politicians to get too specific about religion. America's God is a big tent God, and not the small-tent God of hate and vitriol embraced by folks like Ed Rollins who has already gone to nasty attack ads and who likes to compare himself to a bare-knuckles boxer.

If Huck wants to lead, he needs to walk across the aisle and make nice with Obama. By so doing, he will signal not only where his competition really lies, but also what kind of Christian he really is. As Shakespeare said:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

This is Huck's tide to take. The question now is whether he will seize the moment, or whether he will retrench to fight dirty against McCain, Romney and Giuliani. If he follows the advice of Ed Rollins, the signal will be unmistakable: It's the same old, same old. And that, I am pretty sure, is a commodity America is no longer willing to buy. Obama gets it. It's not yet clear that Huck does.

That said, the Iowa caucus has been remarkable, and restored my faith in the American political system. The two best political candidates in each party have come out on top, and neither one of them is an idiot or unprincipled. We could not ask for more than we have gotten this time around.


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