Shazam! It's Mike Huckabee's Dog Whistle!

Birther alert!

GOP presidential wannabe and Fox News shill Mike Huckabee went on Steve Malzberg's radio show Monday and did what he does best: his folksy, gee-whiz, aw shucks bullshit routine, this time alleging that Barack Obama grew up in a country he didn't even visit until he was in his 20s. That country, of course, is Kenya, the favorite target of xenophobic, race-obsessed right-wingers everywhere, who seem certain the African nation is the cradle of Marxist, Socialist, Communist Fascism, or something they just know is bad, bad, bad.

Straight out of the GOP playbook, Huckabee soon claimed he "misspoke."

From the Los Angeles Times:

Mike Huckabee made a slip of the tongue when saying in an interview that President Obama lived in Kenya, a spokesman for the possible GOP presidential contender said Tuesday. "Gov. Huckabee simply misspoke when he alluded to President Obama growing up in Kenya. The governor meant to say the president grew up in Indonesia," said J. Hogan Gidley, who works for Huckabee's political action committee. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, seemed to be adding fuel to the apparently never-ending brushfire over the president's origins in a Monday interview with a conservative radio host when he suggested that "having grown up in Kenya" Obama would view the British as imperialists. Huckabee said that he "would love to know more" about Obama, adding "what I know is troubling enough." In that same interview, Huckabee said Obama had lived in the African country with his "father and grandfather" — and he didn't appear to attempt to put the issue of Obama's birthplace to rest, saying that "the only reason" he was not confident that there were improprieties about the president's birth certificate is because Hillary Clinton had not been able to uncover anything about it during the 2008 presidential campaign.

More here.

And Salon.com has this:

The problem here is that Huckabee didn't just say that Obama was raised in Kenya -- he made specific reference to the Mau Mau Revolution, claiming that Obama, by virtue of his upbringing, would have a very different understanding of it than Westerners. That's much different than accidentally saying "Kenya" when you meant to say "Indonesia."

And the birther issue is a red herring. This story isn't about whether Huckabee specifically subscribes to the view that Obama wasn't born in the United States; maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. The issue here is that Huckabee has just demonstrated that his main critique of President Obama's foreign policy is rooted in a belief that is demonstrably and laughably false. What other objections to Obama's policymaking does Huckabee have that are based on beliefs like this?

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Turns Out You Can Judge A Book By Its Cover!

Gail Collins of the New York Times reminds us of the other myths being pushed by GOP hucksters this holiday season:

Mitt Romney is pushing “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness,” which is doing well in sales despite the fact that Romney’s central concern is whether America will become “the France of the 21st century.” Given all our problems, does that sound so bad to you, people? Your medical care would improve, your life expectancy lengthen and dinners would be much tastier.

Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, is about to embark on a nationwide tour for “Courage to Stand: An American Story.” Be the first on your block to learn how T-Paw’s youthful struggles in South St. Paul gave him the courage and tenacity to balance the Minnesota state budget! Pawlenty’s background in many ways resembles that of the about-to-be House speaker, John Boehner, although I am relieved to note that he does not generally break into tears when talking about it.

Mike Huckabee has written eight books — quite an output, even though his latest, “Can’t Wait Till Christmas,” is only 32 pages. Some people will find that kind of brevity really attractive, particularly since in it Huckabee has nothing whatsoever to say about the federal budget.

Instead, we learn that when he was a youngster (spoiler alert) Huckabee prematurely opened up a gift that he correctly intuited was a football. It was only a hop, skip and a jump from there to understanding the true meaning of Christmas and becoming governor of Arkansas. Then Huckabee lived out his holiday fantasies by collecting a record $112,000 in presents in a single year, including $48,000 in clothing and a chainsaw.

That last part is not in the book.

Huckabee is a sluggard compared with Newt Gingrich, who has written 22 novels and works of nonfiction. Unless you have already gotten a head start on this project, I am sorry to say you’re probably not going to make it through the Gingrich oeuvre in time for the New Hampshire primary.

Gingrich has been twittering his followers with reminders that he’s got enough product to allow them to do all their Christmas shopping at Newtland. (“5 Principles for a Successful Life is #11 in Gingrich Productions’ 12 Days of Xmas Presents countdown.”)

Among the options are his latest nonfiction entry: “To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine.” This is the one that compares Democrats with Nazis.

It should not be confused with “Saving Freedom: How We Can Stop America’s Slide Into Socialism” by Senator Jim DeMint. That’s the one with a cover that shows the American flag behind barbed wire.

Maybe it’s just me, but neither one of the books really feels like Christmas.

Sarah Palin is out with “America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag.” One of the reflections missing is who did the writing. You have to get to the very end of the book, and work your way through the acknowledgements of Palin’s family, friends, our veterans, “Common-Sense Constitutionalists,” “Prayer Warriors” and her lawyer before she notes that conservative speechwriter Jessica Gavora did “most important work” on the tome.

Pawlenty’s helper, by the way, was Mark Dagostino, who previously co-authored “My Life Outside the Ring,” the autobiography of the former wrestler Hulk Hogan. As of this writing, Hogan is not a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Wouldn't Hulk Hogan be an upgrade?

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Somehow Everything's Gonna Work Out Fine...

Thanks, HuffPo--the suspense had been keeping me up at night:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he's leaning slightly against running for president in 2012 but says it's far too early to say what he will do.

Huckabee says how the 2010 congressional elections turn out will affect his decision. He also will be looking at whether the Republican Party is willing to unite behind him as a candidate.

Another consideration, Huckabee says, is the status of his weekly TV show on Fox News.

Given those factors, Huckabee says mounting another presidential bid is "less likely rather than more likely" at the moment.

Huckabee finished second in the 2008 race for the GOP nomination. He remains a favorite of evangelical conservatives.

Huckabee appeared on "Fox News Sunday.

(Editor's note: "Fox News Sunday" rather than "Meet the Press" or "Face the Nation." McDonald's versus actual food; Astro-Turf versus grass; plastic surgery versus Mother Nature; Rupert Murdoch versus fact-based journalism; Gomer Pyle versus Mike Huckabee---oops, that last one's pretty much the same.)

"I Can't HEAR You!"

Did Mike Huckabee actually say what I think he said?

From George Stephanopoulos of ABC News:

Mike Huckabee tossed a hand grenade into the debate over who's politicizing Ted Kennedy's death Thursday morning when he told his radio audience that under Obamacare, Kennedy would be told to "go home to take pain pills and die."

Which Democrat will toss it back first?

Will any Republicans jump on it by challenging Huckabee head-on?

One thing's for sure: by joining the debate in this time in this way, Huckabee is showing how determined he is not to be outmaneuvered by Sarah Palin in the early 2012 bidding for the GOP's conservative base.

How will Mitt Romney respond?

Well, George, Teddy beat Romney's ass in '94, and Mitt seems small and petty. If he's anything like these other two fools, he'll lie while pissing on a dead man, too.

Nothing Like A Smart Hispanic Woman To Freak Out GOP Confederates, Eh?

Pat Buchanan doesn't think Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer is very smart, Mike Huckabee thinks her name is Maria, and FOX News and the rest of the nuts on the right are sure that the socialist Obama has nominated a Puerto Rican she-devil.  

That's one helluva big tent those GOP Confederates have pitched, isn't it?