Perspective - Honesty and Integrity

If you haven't heard, Mike Huckabee approached Mitt Romney immediately after yesterday's debate in Iowa and apologized for his inappropriate remarks about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which apology was accepted graciously by Governor Romney.

Even so, once spoken words become indelible. As Joseph Kennedy sought to smear the LDS Church and Governor Romney in the 1994 Senate Campaign, of which Senator Ted Kennedy later apologized, the indelible nature of the spoken word achieved its purpose to negatively impact the Romney Senate Campaign. Mike Huckabee had his Joseph and Ted Kennedy moment, words become indelible and reveal a duplicitous and conniving nature; he achieved his purpose. Not that Mike Huckabee's attack will stick, in fact I believe it will ultimately prove to his detriment, it reveals a point of character. Conjunctive with innumerable ethics violations and/or charges against Mr. Huckabee in Arkansas, and given his proclivity to Clintonian answers to questions when challenged on misstatements, the essence of the argument goes to Trust, Honesty and Integrity.

On a further note, Governor Huckabee speaks of this experience as the CEO of a State for 10 1/2 years, more executive experience than any other candidate on the Republican slate. As he stated in yesterday's debate, he was the steward of Arkansas' educational successes which led the nation. In both cases, exception must be noted; Arkansas rank in the bottom half of State educational successes, where Massachusetts ranked first. Governor Huckabee did serve as Governor of Arkansas for 10 1/2 years, a state with a current population of 2.7 million people. I suppose his experience, comparable to that of the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Orange County, California is CEO experience, but is it more substantive than that of Rudy Giuliani, or Governor Romney? Governor Romney has led as CEO, private companies, the Olympics and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (population 6.4 million) for the past 30+ years vs the claims of Mike Huckabee. Again, the proclivity of hyperbole by Mike Huckabee goes to the character trait of Trust, Honesty and Integrity.