Thanks Ron: NEWSWEEK ~ Huckabee Christmas ad is HUGE score for Mike.

Thanks partly for Ron Paul's unbelievable political blunder, the money is pouring into the Huckabee campaign today pushing Mike to his $5 million fourth quarter goal.

Didn't anyone tell Ron Paul that the bible is the number one best seller in the US and Mel Gibson,s "Passion" movie is in the top 10 top grossing film in history? Didnt anyone tell him that Christmas is all about the birth of JESUS for the vast majority of Americans?

Yeah lets go on national TV say that Huckabee is a fascist because he belives what 80% of Americans believe.

The goofy old fart is losing it guys. You dont call your opponent in the republican party a "fascist".



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From NEWSWEEK

Who's the reason for the season? Oh, that's right--He is.

In a new ad set to debut tomorrow in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Mike Huckabee puts the "Christ" back in Christmas. Wearing a red sweater and standing before a glowing Tannenbaum as "Silent Night" softly plays, the former Arkansas governor asks viewers if they're "about worn out of all the television commercials you've been seeing, mostly about politics."

(Insert mental image of red-sweatered Iowans, New Hampshirites and South Carolinians nodding in agreement here.)

"I don't blame you," he says. "At this time of year, sometimes it's nice to pull aside from all of that and remember that"--pause, inhale, smile sincerely--"what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ." After which he mentions "Christmas" twice more and closes with a final "God bless."

This might be the smartest ad of the cycle. For all the observers wondering how the candidates would manage the awkward holiday/caucus overlap, Huckabee delivers a master class.

The first step: beating his rivals to the "This Is No Time for Politics" punch; now every on-air attempt they make to topple the frontrunner from his above-the-fray pedestal looks tawdry.

The next step: reminding voters which side of the "War on Christmas" he's on. Most campaigns run tame, PC "holiday" fare. Not Huckabee. A Southern Baptist pastor, he's counting on evangelicals to win in Iowa. What better way to prove he will put religion in the public square as president than by rejecting establishment attempts to banish Christ from Christmas and defiantly putting religion in the public square today? With very few Jews, Muslims or atheists in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina to take offense--and none who were planning to vote for Huckabee--it's all upside in electoral terms.

The final, and most important, step: getting the secular media all riled up. Expect plenty of "Oh, No He Di'n't" coverage on cable news, with a hearty dollop of "What Does It All Mean?" The press loves nothing more than to huff and puff over religion. For Huckabee's cash-strapped campaign, that means priceless free exposure--and millions of opportunities for its neighborly candidate to connect with the vast majority of Americans who agree with his idea of "what really matters."

The pundits may say naughty. Stumper says nice.

UPDATE, 12.18.07: Oh, and I should probably mention that there's a GIANT CROSS hovering behind Huckabee. Sure, it looks like a shelf holding ornaments, but the shape is unmistakable. Coincidence? Subliminal messaging? A Christmas miracle? You tell me.

[link to www.blog.newsweek.com]