Visits to These Candidates' Websites Surge in November

Both Huckabee and Edwards experienced a huge growth in visits to their websites during the month of November, according to the NPR News Blog. Candidate Facetime Data reveals that visits to Huckabee's site increased 194% in November, while visits to Edwards' site spiked 181%.

This increased website traffic appears to parallel each of these candidates rise in the polls. Recently, for example, Sen. Edwards pulled within nine points of first place in South Carolina, and the polls continue to show a tight, three-way race in Iowa.

On a completely unrelated note, I see some remarkable similarities in the design of the Huckabee and Edwards sites, especially the sidebars.

There is an ongoing debate about the impact of the net on politics, so it will be interesting to see if these numbers reflect these candidates actual performance in the upcoming caucuses and primary.

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The Huckabee Tapes

What is it with Republicans and tapes? What ever it is, Mike Huckbee seems to have mastered the art of losing or erasing what he doesn't want the public to see.

Huckabee, who is now ahead in Iowa, is an ordained Southern Baptist minister who pastored churches in Arkansas for twelve years. In 1989, at age 34, he became the youngest person to ever serve as President of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention-despite having dropped out of Southwestern Seminary after just one year. It seems that this seminary-the same one that wanted my husband to sign in order for me to enter the M.Div. program in 1985-was becoming a bastion of liberalism. Right.

Yet, despite his fame and success as a minister, according to Mother Jones, neither the churches where he served nor his campaign can manage to provide tapes of his sermons. Imagine that.

From what we do know of Huckabee's public statements during this period, it is clear that the content of his sermons might prove tough for a presidential candidate to defend-especially when it comes to the role of religion in government and rights of women.

You see, the twelve years period when Huckabee pastored coincided with the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, and beginning in 1984, the Convention passed a series of resolutions designed to exclude women from ordained ministry. Ultimately, in 1998, the SBC passed the "Family Amendment" advising women to "graciously submit" to their husbands. Personally, I'd like to know whether Huckabee was a messenger to any of the conventions where these resolutions were presented, and, if so, how did he vote? Did any of the churches he served ordain women to the ministry or as deacons? I think it's a fair question.

A 1998 article in Arkansas Online describes then Gov. Huckabee's startling statements to fellow Baptist ministers who were gathered for a meeting in, where else, Salt Lake City. I find this article compelling because it was written ten years ago before Huckabee planned a run for President. Here are a couple of truly scary quotes:

Huckabee also explained why he left pastoring for politics."I didn't get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives."He compared his entry into politics to "getting inside the dragon's belly," adding,"There's not one thing we can do in those marbled halls and domed capitols that can equal what's done when Jesus touches the lives of a sinner."

And...

The nation has descended gradually into crisis, Huckabee said, and repairing the damage needs to be gradual, too. He said the solution is simple: faith in Christ.

Strangly foreshadowing Huckabee's race with Romney, those who attended this 1998 meeting left with copies of Mormonism Unmasked by R. Philip Roberts. Let's just say it's not a flattering portrayal of Mormonism.

No wonder self-described Jesus-first conservatives are supporting Mike Huckabee. I'm with Elizabeth Edwards. This guy scares me.

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A Friday Funny, Huckabee Version

This is very funny, from TPM:

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The Buzz: Which Candidates Win the "Likability" Battle?

When it comes down to brass tacks, people vote for the candidate they like.

Based on data gathered by Wonkosphere from political bloggers, both conservative and progressive bloggers find John Edwards to be the most likable democrat in the race for president. Among the republicans, the prize goes to Mike Huckabee who, like Edwards, topped the charts not just with conservative bloggers but with progressives as well.

It will come as a shock to many who spend time surfing the political blogsphere, but most Americans are just not tuned in to the presidential race and won't be until the bitter end. When they do tune in, about 80% of the time, they will make their choice with their gut, or so says Dr. Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain. What Westen refers to as "curb appeal" is hugely important, especially when it comes to attracting undecided and swing voters. You would think that democrats learned that lesson in 2004 when Bush won the presidency, not because he was the smarter candidate, not because he was a stronger leader, but because more people picked him as the guy they would rather have a beer with.

Here's what Kevin Dooley of Wonkosphere had to say about their research:

Amongst the leading Democratic candidates, John Edwards scored highest in
likability amongst liberal bloggers (96), followed closely by Barack Obama (88)
and Chris Dodd (88). Following Obama were Bill Richardson (73), Hillary Clinton
(58), Dennis Kucinich (31), Joe Biden (22), and Mike Gravel (8).
"There were also some interesting results concerning the cross-over buzz," said
Wonkosphere's Steve Corman. "Huckabee was the most-liked Republican to liberal bloggers (82), while they really have it in for Giuliani (14). Conversely, John
Edwards was the most liked Democrat to conservative bloggers, with likability
almost twice as high as all of the other Democrats."

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Wanna Win?

New polling today again shows that John Edwards is the Democrat who stands the best chance of actually winning the presidency in 2008. Even as Huckabee slipped into the lead in Georgia, John Edwards bests him nationally by 25 points, a bigger margin than either of the other front runners. CNN summarizes one of my key reasons for supporting Edwards:

"Edwards is the only Democrat who beats all four Republicans, and McCain is the only Republican who beats any of the three Democrats," Holland said. "Some might argue this shows that they are the most electable candidates in their respective parties."

No kidding. Democrats need to be asking a serious question: do we want to win the presidency in 2008, or would we rather be crying in a ballroom like we were in 2004-our hopes pinned on Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan? I don't know about you, but I don't care to repeat that experience. We have three supreme court justices on the line, plus Iraq, Iran, health care and the list goes on. We need choose the candidate who has the best chance of actually WINNING, and that's John Edwards-the candidate Republicans fear the most. Watch this clip:



This is why I have been working for Edwards. It's why I'm packing my suitcase and heading to Iowa for the caucus. This is why-I want to WIN next November.

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The DPG Will Have Some Competition on JJ Night

While Georgia Democrats are welcoming our presidential candidates to the annual JJ Dinner, an estimated 20,000 Baptists will also descend on the World Congress Center for the opening session of the New Baptist Covenant Celebration. (Southern Baptists are not part of this group.) According to Robert Parham, at Ethics Daily, President Jimmy Carter is on the program-not for the DPG, but instead for the Baptists. I noticed on their website that there's an "Al Gore" luncheon the next day. Does that mean Gore will be in town, too? And here's the kicker, Mike Huckabee was initially also confirmed for the evening of the 3oth, but withdrew after Carter said that Bush would go down as one of the worst presidents in history. Now, Parham is advocating re-inviting Huckabee. Wouldn't that be a kick? 20,000 Baptists, a whole bunch of democrats, Carter, Huckabee, most of the democratic presidential candidates, Cleland and Lewis-all at the World Congress Center on Jan. 30th.

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Mike Huckabee is So Going to Win Iowa

I'm a watching the republican YouTube debate. (Yes, I do hate myself.) What I want to say is:

Mike Huckabee is SO going to win Iowa, and probably the whole shootin' match.

We need to focus on who on our team has the capacity to stand up to Mr. "I started at age 14 working and worked my way though college. Because I was able to get an education, I am standing on this stage, otherwise I might be picking lettuce..."

Somehow, Hillary Clinton's name does not jump to mind.

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Some Love for Florida

The DNC may have threatened Florida with Time Out today, but Clinton, Edwards and Kucinich apparently understand that momentum is just as important as delegates in the contest for the nomination. Five presidential candidates confirmed they will take part in discussions of key domestic issues before more than 600 representatives of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) on August 27 and 28 at the Disney Yacht and Beach Club in Orlando, FL. The schedule for the IAM's Conversation with the Candidates is as follows:

Mon. Aug. 27, 3:30 pm: New York Sen. Hillary Clinton
Mon. Aug. 27, 7:30 pm: California Rep. Duncan Hunter and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
Tue. Aug. 28, 7:30 pm; Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich

The candidate conversations will be moderated by Erin Moriarty of CBS News. The event will be streamed, live, from the www.GOIAM.org web site. Streaming provided by ustream.tv.

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