Friday, January 04, 2008

Iowa and Latin America

Upon seeing the Iowa results, it immediately occurred to me that Obama and Huckabee are polar opposites with regard to policy toward Latin America. We have to remember, of course, that no candidate is paying attention to the region, and most even see immigration as a purely U.S. issue.

I give Obama credit for rejecting the idea that we shouldn’t meet with the leaders of Venezuela or Cuba (though no one, of course, asked why we should lump Venezuela in with North Korea!). His position on immigration is also reasonable and includes working with the Mexican government. He gave a good speech on Latin America in March, and I would hope that anyone, once elected, would follow his words:

It is my hope that the President will break from his practice of touting the importance of the Americas during his travels only to turn his back upon his return.

Huckabee is really a disgrace with regard to Latin America. He was pro-Cuba trade while governor but now openly panders to the anti-Castro Florida electorate. He had more common sense about immigration while governor, but now panders to restrictionists, notwithstanding some positive comments he made during a debate about children of undocumented immigrants going to college. He even used the murder of Benazir Bhutto as an excuse to call for more border wall. Even if you agreed with Huckabee’s current positions, you would have to be alarmed by his 180 degree turns and lack of knowledge.

5 comments:

Justin Delacour 5:42 PM  

It looks like McCain will win New Hampshire. But from there, it's difficult to see who emerges as the front-runner among the Republicans. I think Huckabee will do very well in Southern primaries. The question is whether or not he could win primaries in swing states (like, say, Nevada). If Republicans are smart, they'll vote tactically for McCain because the dirt on Huckabee will sink him in a general election.

Justin Delacour 7:27 PM  

Oops, I just saw a poll that put Mitt Romney slightly ahead of McCain in New Hampshire. If Romney were to win New Hampshire, that would put Huckabee in a very strong position to win the nomination because Huckabee is gonna do well in the South. If Romney and McCain just split the vote in non-southern primaries, Huckabee will be well-positioned to win the Republican nomination.

Anonymous,  8:18 PM  

So?

Justin Delacour 11:47 PM  

So?

Well, that's up to you to figure out, smart guy.

Anonymous,  9:55 AM  

The Republicans can't be stupid enough to nominate Huckabee. He has ZERO chance in a general election. The RNC will have to undertake subtle tactics to undermine Huckabee, starting now. It is almost comical to consider him in the White House. He doesn't know Pakistan from Pak N Save.

On the other hand, Huckabee winning a bunch of states would give a huge boost to an independent Mike Bloomberg if he decides to enter the race.

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