Religion, Nationalism, and Terror

Munson: It is perfectly natural that a Baptist minister would send a message to the members of his church, and to his family and friends, reminding them that Christmas is “really” about celebrating the birth of Christ. But Huckabee’s Christmas message is a political ad paid for the Huckabee campaign to be broadcast in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to influence the January caucuses and primaries in these states. The implicit message in this seemingly innocuous videotaped Christmas card is that “real” Christians should vote for Huckabee. This in turn implies that the simple fact of being a “real” Christian is directly relevant to one’s qualifications for the presidency. Most of the people who support Huckabee assume this is true since they see the US as a Christian nation. The fact that current polls show Huckabee defeating all his opponents in Iowa and South Carolina demonstrates the influence of white evangelicals in these states. Huckabee is much weaker in states like Michigan, New Hampshire, and Florida, all of which also hold primaries in January 2008. But national polls show Huckabee narrowly trailing front-runner Giuliani.

Ironically, given that Huckabee attributes his “surge” to God, his views on foreign policy are more sensible than those of the other leading Republican candidates, although he is much less sensible than pragmatic realists like Senator Chuck Hagel.

Mike Huckabee for President, New Ad: What Really Matters, December 17, 2007