The Florida Baptist Witness, a Southern Baptist publication, reports that Mike Huckabee has withdrawn as a speaker at the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant. Huckabee cited what he called an “unprecedented personal attack” by former President Jimmy Carter on President George W. Bush and his administration’s foreign policy. A story on Carter's comments, including the audio of the interview, is here.
Hucakbee said: “While I continue to have great respect for President Carter as a fellow Christian believer and Baptist, I’m deeply disappointed by the unusually harsh comments made in my state this past weekend regarding President Bush, and feel that it represents an unprecedented personal attack on a sitting president by a former president which is unbecoming the office as well as unbecoming to one whose conference is supposed to be about civility and bringing people together.” The story on Huckabee's withdrawal is here. I'm sorry to hear this news.
UPDATE: According to this story, President Carter had this to say today about the underlying interview mentioned above: " 'If you look at the exchange, it was a comparison between (President) Nixon's foreign policy and President Bush's foreign policy, and I did compare favorably toward what Nixon did in international affairs, there's no question about that,' Carter told reporters in St. Bernard Parish, La., where he was helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity." Carter added: "I should have avoided the question or been more careful."
ANOTHER UPDATE: Associated Baptist Press has a story on Huckabee's withdrawal. And I forgot to thank Bruce Prescott for the link to the Florida Baptist Witness story.
Just when I thought that Huckabee might be a nice guy--whatever his politics. Sigh.
Posted by: Michael Westmoreland-White | May 22, 2007 at 10:04 AM