National political digest
December 16, 2007
A weekly review of news from the world of politics
Huckabee 'doesn't know' Mormonism
He just doesn't know.
That's what Mike Huckabee's campaign manager said in regard to the flap over
Huckabee's question about Mormonism in an article to be published today in the
New York Times.
In the article, Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks, "Don't
Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
Rival Mitt Romney, vying to become the first Mormon elected president, declined
to answer the question during an interview Wednesday and said that "attacking
someone's religion is really going too far."
Huckabee later apologized personally to Romney. Chip Saltsman, Huckabee's
campaign manager, said the quotation was taken out of context and that the
question was rooted in genuine ignorance.
"He says he doesn't know much about Mormonism as a religion," Saltsman said.
Huckabee has been surging in recent opinion polls, taking the GOP lead in Iowa
and pressing closer to Rudy Giuliani in national polling.
Dodd, Biden share a lot
Chris Dodd and Joe Biden have a few things in common, besides both seeking
the Democratic presidential nomination. They're friends. Both are senators from
the northeast (Dodd from Connecticut, Biden from Delaware). Both have spent
three decades in Congress. Both have white hair.
"They are soul brothers," said Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State University
political science professor.
Both also like to talk of conciliation in politics.
There's one more thing, of course: Both are at or near the bottom in polls, and
the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses could be make-it-or-break-it time.
Thompson denies lazy tag
Fred Thompson's presidential campaign has been wounded by claims that he is
lazy.
The perception has "been rather damaging, because it's an easy accusation to
make and easy for people to understand and ... it's hard to disprove a negative,"
said M. Lee Smith, retired founder of the Tennessee Journal political newsletter.
Early this year, when Thompson began hinting at a run, several Democratic
operatives described him as lazy while he was in the Senate from 1994 to 2002.
During an October debate, he responded to the issue by describing a life that
included being an assistant U.S. attorney at 28, attorney for the Senate
Watergate committee at 30, and a U.S. senator, among other accomplishments.
"If a man can do all that and be lazy, I recommend it to everybody," Thompson
said.
Older voters dependable
Seniors may not be big financial donors in presidential politics, but they often do
volunteer work on campaigns.
And, most importantly, no portion of the population votes more than older voters,
said Curtis Gans, director of the Center for the Study of the American Electorate
at American University.
In the 2004 election, 72% of Americans ages 55 and older voted, compared with
47% of those 18 to 24. They were a key part of President George W. Bush's
victory over Democrat John Kerry. Bush carried older voters, 53% to 46%, in his
2004 re-election.
Young skew Democratic
At the other end of things, exit polls from recent elections and survey research
show the nation's young people are less likely to embrace the Republican Party
than in any generation since the '60s.
Turnout among younger voters climbed in the past two elections, jumping nine
points in 2004 and two to four points in 2006, according to the Center for
Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at the University of
Maryland.
Random comments
• Todd Harris, communications director for the Thompson campaign, about
Wednesday's GOP gathering in Des Moines, Iowa:
"The format of this debate was more of a joke than a Mike Huckabee foreignpolicy answer."
• Dave Barry, columnist and presidential candidate, on how he would curb
government spending:
"I would tell the government that if it wants to buy something, it will have to earn
the money itself, by mowing the lawn, renting out the Department of Commerce
for parties, etc."
Last word
"Time's a wastin' now, and they can't afford to alienate anybody now who could
show up at the polls."
-- Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida, on the
Republican presidential candidates