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Wasted Away Again in Bubbaville




Mike Huckabee seems to believe there are two worlds -- Bubbleville and Bubbaville.  As you might imagine, the real people live in Bubbaville, while those out of touch with reality live in "Bubbles" like New York and Washington and Los Angeles.  Jon Stewart was surprisingly patient with the Reverend Huck until it came to the matter of Beyonce.

For someone who says that Beyonce is not his biggest concern, he sure spends a lot of time talking about her.  Jon noted the hypocrisy in calling out the pop diva when Huck likes to hobnob with the Nuge, who isn't exactly the most wholesome of celebrities. But, Huck wasn't going to be deterred.  In his mind, Beyonce represents a far more pernicious influence since she is so popular among impressionable teenage girls, notably the Obama daughters.

Huckabee, like other conservative pundits, has been actively criticizing the Obamas' parenting skills as of late, believing that they are failing their children as badly as they are failing the country.  It has become a full fledged culture war drawn along political lines, as he hasn't been as outspoken about Britney Spears, who has shown her support for conservative leaders like George Bush.  No mention of how she might have perversely affected conservative daughters with her questionable antics.

Jon tried to point out that we all live in our "Bubbles" -- worlds that we create for ourselves, often oblivious to the broader context, but for Huck the East Coast elite just doesn't get the folks of his "Bubbaville."  He means to set the record straight with his new book, God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, although he might have thought about adding Greed.  

It seems he is in the business of selling images just as much as Madison Avenue, although his are homespun ones that he thinks will appeal to religious conservative voters across the country as he prepares for a presidential bid in 2016.  Why else would he even have agreed to go on The Daily Show?

For six-and-a-half years he has been cultivating this image on Fox News, after his failed bid in 2008. Huck thought about running in 2012, but I guess didn't think he had the wellspring of support he needed to battle Romney a second time around.  After all, it takes big bucks to mount a presidential campaign.  With religious conservatives clamoring for one of their own this time around, Huck thinks he's the one.  After all, the other "anointed" ones like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul went to Harvard and Duke, which would be elitist "Bubbles" in his mind.



In case your curious, Huck graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.  He attended a theological seminary in Fort Worth, Texas for one year before joining televangelist James Robison.  He blended religion with politics seamlessly,   He served as Lt. Governor of Arkansas for 3 years, and with the help of Dick Morris won the Governor's seat in 1996, which he served until running for President.

You get the sense that what might be really driving him is resentment, as he doesn't get the recognition of his predecessor Bill Clinton, who graduated from Georgetown, another one of those "Bubbles."  But, if there is anything Huck learned from all his years preaching to the faithful is never to show that resentment.

He held his own against Jon Stewart even if his argument that Beyonce is little more than a glorified pole dancer fell flat.  I wonder what he would think of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, who have long held Bubbaville boys' imaginations?  I guess that's OK, since these boys don't aspire to be cheerleaders but rather to bag one like they would a prize deer.

One could get into the whole idea of "trophy wives," which is pervasive in Bubbaville, but I doubt that Huck covers this theme in his new book.  Instead, he relishes in the homespun homilies that have become his staple of conversation.   He knows to keep it light, just like on Dallas, Dukes of HazzardDesigning Women, and any number of other television shows set in Bubbaville over the years.  Sorry, Huck, we know all about Bubbaville.  There isn't anything new you can tell us.


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