Huckabee on Robertson

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist pastor and past president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, offered some fairly critical remarks about televangelist Pat Robertson. The remarks came after he was asked about Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani (see previous post here). Huckabee said he would rather have the endorsement of Chuck Norris (which he does). He stated:

It seems that the leaders of the past, those who have been looked to as the bell cows of the movement, are completely out of step with their own followers lately. But if you talk about the people in the rank and file, there's not any confusion at all. The people haven't abandoned their principles. It's almost like that classic cartoon where the guy runs up and says, "Did you see where everybody went? I'm their leader and I need to know who they are."

... They're thinking in terms of political expediency and not in terms of the principles that supposedly got them involved in the movement to begin with. It's kind of like if the NRA suddenly started saying, "Well, you know, guns are important, but what we really care about is global warming." Nobody would take them seriously, because they would have lost their core purpose.

Very good! He called Robertson a leader of the past who has abandoned his principles. Now if only the media would not treat Robertson as if he represents most evangelicals. In related news, Robert Parham has a good Ethics Daily column today calling on Huckabee to reconsider his decision to not speak at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.