By: E&P Staff and The Associated Press The New York Times posted on its Web site today a lengthy profile of suddenly serious Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee that will not appear in print until this Sunday.
The Associated Press circulated last night a hot quote from the profile that gained wide attention, and then the Times put up the piece, titled "The Huckabee Factor." The quote AP used from Huckabee was: "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
Among the highlights of the article:
-- "Huckabee ordered soup and a sandwich without drama or comment and began talking about rock ?n? roll. This is his regular warm-up gambit with reporters of a certain age, meant to convey that he is a cool guy for a Baptist preacher. Naturally I fell for it, and asked who he would like to play at his inaugural. ?'I?ve got to start with the Stones,' Huckabee said. The governor regards 1968 as the dawning of 'the age of the birth-control pill, free love, gay sex, the drug culture and reckless disregard for standards.' The Rolling Stones album ?Their Satanic Majesties Request?' provided the soundtrack for that annus terribilis. But Mike Huckabee wanted me to know that he believes in the separation of church and stage.
"The governor?s musical wish list also included John Mellencamp, who, he noted, would be welcome despite their differing political views; the country duo Brooks & Dunn; Stevie Wonder; and, surprisingly, Grand Funk Railroad. ?'That?s a groundbreaking group,? he said earnestly. ?'The bass player, Mel Schacher, is very underrated.'??
--"Huckabee?s affability and populist economic and social views have sometimes been misinterpreted as a moderate brand of evangelical Christianity. In fact, as he wrote in his book ?'Character Makes a Difference,?' he considers liberalism to be a cancer on Christianity. Huckabee is an admirer of the late Jerry Falwell (whose son, Jerry Jr., recently endorsed his candidacy) and subscribes wholeheartedly to the principles of the Moral Majority. He also affirms the Baptist Faith and Message statement: ?'The Holy Bible . . . has truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.'??
-- "Many Republican strategists remain dubious about Huckabee?s chances. ?'He?ll get hammered in New Hampshire,?' the Republican consultant Mike Murphy told me. ?'A primary campaign is like a book. Iowa is just the first chapter. After that come more chapters. Opponents will hit Huckabee for being soft on immigration, Arkansas allegations, that kind of thing. And at some point, Republican elites will begin to ask, Is what we need a smallstate governor who doesn?t believe in Darwin?'??
The AP story opened as follows: "Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, 'Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?'
"The article, to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn't know much about it. His rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account. A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine."
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