Huckabee: “I got in a little trouble this last week because I actually had the audacity to say ‘Merry Christmas.’ Isn’t that an odd thing to say at this time of year?”
December 24, 2007 11:27 am Christian Right and GOPSAN ANTONIO - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made no apologies yesterday for the religious tone of a recent holiday campaign commercial and said it is important to look for Jesus at this time of year.
“You can find Santa at every mall. You can find discounts in every store,” Huckabee said from the pulpit of Cornerstone Church. “But if you mention the name of Jesus, as I found out recently, it upsets the whole world. Forgive me, but I thought that was the point of the whole day.”
Huckabee was referring the ad airing in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina that shows him in a red sweater in front of a Christmas tree.
In the ad, Huckabee asks: “Are you about worn out by all the television commercials you’ve been seeing, mostly about politics? Well, I don’t blame you. At this time of year sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and friends.”
“And I hope that you and your friends will have a magnificent Christmas season. And on behalf of all of us, God Bless and Merry Christmas. I’m Mike Huckabee and I approved this message,” he says in the spot….
Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas and an ordained Southern Baptist minister, has been on the defensive in recent weeks because of the ad and his rise in the polls, particularly in Iowa, where he has taken away the top spot from Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Speaking at a later church service, Huckabee said: “I got in a little trouble this last week because I actually had the audacity to say ‘Merry Christmas.’ Isn’t that an odd thing to say at this time of year?”