The Huckabee dodge

Someone else saw it the same way (What would Jesus Dodge?):

Huckabee was dodging a direct question on the very area -- the intersection of religion and policy -- on which he is building his campaign. The man whose ads call him a "Christian Leader" and who says his faith "defines me" wouldn't answer a pretty simple question on how his faith affects his opinion on a policy issue.

And worse, Huckabee uses his nice guy Pastor act to mask something else--being an ass.

Let's take his answer to a question about NASA sending humans to Mars; in his answer, he said, "Now, whether we need to send somebody to Mars, I don't know. But I'll tell you what: If we do, I've got a few suggestions, and maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars." Everyone laughed. But the best word to describe that crack is is probably "bitchy." It was just a cheap shot, both ugly and shamelessly pandering. It came from a place of hate within Mike Huckabee's heart and those of the audience whose favor he was seeking. But he said it with a smile, so I guess that means it's OK.

The part that bugs me is that the blogger is right. For all the talk about Christian love and compassion, there is a huge well of hatred in the religious right that belies their putative faith. And what makes that worse is that they believe they are more righteous than the rest of us, and therefore less hateful than the rest of us. Which makes Leighton's comment all the more scary--about the rumor circulating (and given some credence by the Wapo) that Obama is a closet Muslim. Ten bucks says that is cycling through religious right email lists and will become part of the dialogue. Either they will hate Hillary or Obama and try very hard to give us another Pastor in chief.