“It’s the Entertainment Value Stupid” as I wrote back on 12/17/06 (see below) and nothing has changed.   The dem’s have long had their “Idol” and/or “Survivor” in Obama and now the GOP has mimicked the dem electorate.    After all if GOP voters can’t be electrified and enthused about a candidate, at least they should be entertained as they see it.  And Mike Huckabee fills the bill.  To look at Mike its almost like looking at a Marquee outside the Comedy Club.  “Guaranteed laughs tonight folks.  Mike Huckabee and his band.   Witty one liners interspersed with Mike's rockin’ bass guitar.  Then more of the great one-liners Mike is famous for.”  Ha!  “As Seen on TV!”

Now this is not to say that Mike is not presidential material.  I do not support him (yet) but I think he might do very well.    If elected and after lowering his hand on 1/20/09 he might get very serious and be a great President.  Or maybe not.  Its hard to say because its really hard to put a finger on where he really stands on the issues.  I don’t think he really knows because the guy seems to be winging it.  Like someone who exaggerated their qualifications on a job application and then got the job.  Having to stumble along and learn as they go.  That’s Mike Huckabee.  Don’t get me wrong, the man is not stupid.  Quite the opposite.  But its not Huckabee’s great intellect that is propelling his campaign forward.  I think it all started with the “floating Cross”.   Planned or unplanned that was all many people needed.  We have to remember that there are a lot of people who are looking for a “sign” like that.  The same sort of people that would pay $28K for a grilled cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary on it and perceive religious imagery in other physical objects.  Lets be honest.  There are folks out there who do, in fact, need “help”.   Hopping from one emotional uplifting experience to another and in between descending into a deep crevasse of depression.   And Mike is providing those emotional uplifts for them.  Hey!  I loved that floating Cross Christmas message, too.  So what does that make me?  Ha!  But I didn’t love it enough to leave my candidate and go out and support Huckabee.  But it may come down to it that I must support him.   Because I predict he’ll get the GOP nomination.  And then the Presidency.   The Huckabee campaign has some strange, unstoppable momentum.   Or to me it seems unstoppable.  And lets face it the other GOP candidates have no winning strategy or plan.  With a winning plan/strategy any one of them could zoom right past Huckabee.   But they’ve all surrounded themselves with a collection of empty suit advisers who are encapsulating and isolating their candidate.  The 1^st priority of these inept advisers and consultants  is to guard their pathetic patch of turf and protect their own little delicate ego’s.   

So even though Huckabee has no better plan or strategy, the one asset he has that the other candidates do not have:  "The Entertainment Value".

It’s the Entertainment Value Stupid – 1^st published 12/17/06 – http://streetlevel.townhall.com   by Darvin Dowdy

It was during the '92 Clinton campaign that, as I remember,  James Carville hung the now infamous sign  in Clintons Little Rock headquarters: "Its the Economy Stupid".  Well it may have been then -  but not now.  We have this absolutely roaring economy.  It surely didn't help President Bush and the Repub's did it?  And lets give some credit where it is due. The President gave us this fabulous economy (refused to sign Kyoto which would've wrecked it). He and the Senate have appointed wonderful judges both to the Supreme court and lower courts. And - no attacks in 5 years since 9/11!  Isn't that worth something?   Yet, like the Titanic, the GOP continues to sink.  The iceberg named the American Voter has revealed their colossal ingratitude and fickleness.

But wait a minute!  The American Voter hasn't finished showing what a bunch of unstable, vacillating, indecisive minds of mush they can really be!  They have selected their Hero.  Their Champion. Yes. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  That very "Junior" senator from the liberal state of Illinois, "Barack Hussein Obama"! 

No matter that in the U.S. Senate he ranks 99th out of 100 in seniority.  Because - hey! - none other than Time Magazine has said about him, "one of the most influential people in the world!".  Based on what? I don't know but if Time said it, it must be true - right?  And the influential British journal New Statesman said of Barack in Oct 05 something to the effect that he can "Save the World!".   Wow!  No wonder Illinois voters liked him.   Additionally, in the short 2 year period that Sen. Obama has been in office he has received no less than 4 honorary doctorates from major universities.  How many did President Bush receive? I know Condi Rice had to get her's the hard way.     Yes Sen. Obama has become the darling of the Main Stream Media and the elitist university crowd. 

Can you really blame him for taking that football and running with it?  Its like defensive end Obama  just standing there after  2 linebackers charge in  and hit the quarterback causing him to cough up the football. It pops up in the air and right into  Obama's arms and there's clear field and 10 yards to the goal post.  He's not going to say, "I don't deserve this. Here. One of you linebackers take this ball and run it in for the touch down". That’s kind of what has happened to Sen Obama in a sense.    The Main Stream Media is absolutely in love with this  guy. They have given him  notoriety.  Big time name recognition. Plastered his picture everywhere.  And Sen Obama is just a good, red blooded American man who is definitely going to take advantage of this opportunity.  It would be un-American not to!

But it really comes back to rest on the shoulders of that non-thinking, unstable American Voter.  For most of them its all about Entertainment Value.  Who can entertain them?  When and where?   They view the political arena much the way they view the football arena. Or a  WWF match. American Idol. Or Survivor.  Its a little scary isn't it?  But thats just the way it is right now.  Especially, since Rove and  the bungling RNC hierarchy have run the Republican Party aground.

One  bit of info before we go to a commercial break folks.  And that is the Hillary factor.  Lets not count her out yet.  You can bet that if Obama gets to be too much of a threat the Clinton Machine will dig deep and find some dirt or a skeleton in Obama's closet. And with the help of their "willing accomplices in the Main Stream Media" they'll tear poor Obama to shreds.  I really feel for the guy in a way.   The press and the American public like nothing better than to build someone up (like Obama)  just so they can tear them down.  My advice to Senator Obama?  Switch to the Republican Party.  Wouldn't that just throw everyone into an absolute tailspin?  

And one last message to conservative political commentators/opinionators.  Its a whole lot of fun exposing the Dem's for what they really are "but", don't forget 2008. If we are to win we must begin the unpleasant task of exposing those in our own GOP who have steered this party off course.   And those who are still trashing our party.  And if they continue to refuse to step aside we must put extreme negative pressure on them.   The Democratic political arena is indeed a sideshow.  But for the GOP to win we must project a totally different image and we must have our own house in order.      DD