Governor Huckabee & The Second Kick Of A Mule

At the November 5th meeting of the RJC (Republican Jewish Coalition), in New York City, I had the privilege of speaking with former presidential candidate and television talk-show host, Governor Mike Huckabee. Although a supporter of the Governor prior to this event, my respect and admiration for the man increased exponentially as I sat at a table and conversed with him. What I immediately realized as our discussion progressed was that Governor Huckabee possesses a quality that has become exceedingly rare amongst America’s national leadership - that of character. Character is the most elusive and the least expendable attribute of an effective American leader. Character symbolizes all that is great in our nation and represents the defining aspect of the politicians we most revere, e.g., George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. It was an impalpable sense of character emanating from these leaders that gave the American people a veritable sense of hope and security amid perilous and trying times, believing as they did, that their national leadership understood their hardships and sufferings and was dedicated to their safety and happiness, irrespective of party factions. It is this high sense of character that is presently missing from America’s national leadership.

While I do not adhere to the theory that the Obama Administration has purposefully weakened America’s global standing and hindered its economic growth, this supposition represents a growing fear among the American electorate. This pervasive distrust of the President is not the result of Tea Party ignorance or endemic simplicity as many on the far-left have claimed; rather it is the natural byproduct of a growing impression that the leader of our nation has reneged on a sacred oath, that his steadfast idealism at times supersedes his erratic dedication to the Constitution, and that he is willing to sacrifice the public-good if its interests run contrary to his agenda.

Perhaps Governor Huckabee summed it up best when he explained to the RJC what he believed to be the essential dilemma concerning our present leadership – a fundamental disconnect between the American people and the leaders they have elected to govern them. President Obama has chosen a path of detachment, cloaking himself in the theories of academia, evading the harsh realities of everyday Americans struggling to pay their bills, forfeiting their earnings to the government and surrendering their independence to the state. This would explain why the grand majority of the President’s inner-circle hails from the public sector, never having managed so much as a lemonade stand, let alone a business or enterprise. A cold aloofness to the public fray allows the Administration to shelter itself from the extraordinary times that we live in and the ordinary people they affect.

Governor Huckabee viewed the results of the midterm elections as a sign of American resilience. A multitude of people with roots in the private sector will soon be entering office. These are people who have proven their character and their ability to lead prior to their lives in politics. Their election represents a shift in the electorate, indicative of a newfound respect for individual drive and a reverence for the American dream.

The isolated world of academia, while providing a service to society, has not and cannot produce the leadership necessary to perpetuate American exceptionalism. By nature, theoretical utopianism and societal idealism do not represent reality. Shrouding oneself in political romanticism and denying oneself the truth is not the mark of a leader. While these theories may find a home in classroom debates, they do not belong in, and in fact prove caustic to, the workings of practical government.

I believe, as does Mr. Huckabee, that President Obama means no harm to America, that his heart is in the right place. It is merely his character, or lack thereof, that precludes the nation’s advancement. For the sake of the country, it is my fervent hope that the Obama Administration takes heed of the message that was recently sent by an increasingly frustrated electorate and musters the fortitude to reinvent itself, face reality and connect with the American people. This course of action would prove beneficial to the interests of the President, as well. Alas, there is an old southern saying that still finds voice in Mike Huckabee’s home state of Arkansas: There is no education in the second kick of a mule.