Yesterday, the press was given an article where Huckabee was interviewed about his foreign policy views, and his tone towards Bush is, well, ballsy to say the least.
What’s more, I think this is a significant turning point in his campaign. I’ll explain why after some AP reportage…
“American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out,” Huckabee said. “The Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States’ main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists.” […]
He said this year’s troop increase under Bush has resulted in significant but tenuous gains, and he said – much as Bush has – that he would not withdraw troops from Iraq any faster than Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander there, recommends. The military has now slowly begun to reverse the troop increase. […]
While the Foreign Affairs article is missing the one-liners he is known for, it does have a few folksy comparisons to illustrate his points. On Iran, for example, he makes a case for diplomacy by saying, “Before we put boots on the ground elsewhere, we had better have wingtips there first.”
Okay, so here’s the most important thing about Huck calling Bush out on his questionable foreign policy strategy: he’s giving a voice to a lot of Republicans and Independents who feel the same. Some of those folks have already joined the Ron Paul campaign, but I bet there are a lot more out there who don’t feel that we should become completely non-interventionist, we just need a new direction. So that’s why Huck’s not mincing words and he’s not playing coy. He’s stating it outright, and if there’s one thing that excites voters around election time, it’s straight talking.
Also, does it appear to anybody else that this move has Ed Rollins all over it? I certainly think so. Rollins understands that many independents don’t really want to vote for a Democrat like Hillary, but if Huck goes after Bush and says the same things a lot of moderate Republicans and Independents are thinking, he gives them permission to vote for…gasp…a Republican!
In short, I’m becoming more and more convinced that not only can Huckabee become the Republican nominee, he can also win the White House.
(crossposted at Donklephant)