Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee got quite a lot of attention last week for his negative comments about Natalie Portman’s pregnancy. He seems to have the idea that Ms. Portman is glamorizing out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Maybe I missed something, but I haven’t seen or heard anything to support such a claim. While Ms. Portman has been honest about her pregnancy, and she does not appear to be ashamed of it, neither of those circumstances warrant the inference that she is glamorizing her condition.
Now, here’s where the hypocrisy comes into the picture. Way back in the fall of 2008, the Republican vice-presidential candidate’s unmarried teen-aged daughter was pregnant throughout the campaign. I could be wrong – and if I am, please provide a link for me – but I don’t recall Mr. Huckabee saying anything negative about Ms. Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. 
Similar to Ms. Portman, Ms. Palin was honest about her pregnancy, and did not appear to be ashamed of it. Moreover, like Ms. Palin before her, Ms. Portman is engaged to marry the father of her child. Ms. Palin’s engagement was later broken; we’ll have to wait and see what happens in Ms. Portman’s case. Since one can readily see striking similarities in the two cases, one can’t help wondering why one case merits criticism and the other didn’t.
I don’t think it’s coincidental that Mr. Huckabee remained silent at a time when the Republican party stood to gain a lot. Now, when the Republican party doesn’t have anything to gain or lose in the immediate future, Mr. Huckabee has spoken critically about out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Previously, presumably to support his party’s chances at success, Mr. Huckabee held his tongue about the Palin family’s personal circumstances. Even when Sarah Palin and the Republican party hauled Bristol Palin from one end of the country to the other to garner sympathy and support for their ambitions, Mr. Huckabee remained silent. It seems to me that Bristol Palin’s constant presence on her mother’s campaign trail over a period of several months glamorized her pregnancy far more than Natalie Portman’s brief appearance at what was, first and foremost for her, a professional event related to her career.
In contrast to the situation that existed less than three years ago, Mike Huckabee’s current position in relation to the Republican party has changed significantly. He had nothing to gain by criticizing Bristol Palin in 2008. Now, he has an opportunity to compete against Sarah Palin for the next Republican presidential nomination. Sarah Palin is a darling among evangelical Christian Republicans, and Mr. Huckabee needs to gain support from that same conservative base if he hopes to win that nomination. One way to do that is to speak out strongly for family values as the Religious Right he must woo defines them. That includes, among other things, standing firmly against single-parenthood and sex outside of heterosexual marital relations.
I suppose Mr. Huckabee’s comments about single parenthood, out-of-wedlock pregnancy and so on were sincere. It’s hard to tell, though, because the sincerity of his sentiments is grossly overshadowed by the transparency of his ambition.
– the chaplain
Spanish Inquisitor
March 7, 2011 at 1:53 pm
I’d go a bit further and say that there are no striking similarities, other than their respective pregnancies. Portman is a highly successful, Academy Award winning actress pulling down millions of dollars per picture, and even if she didn’t marry the father, she would be more than capable of supporting and raising a child on her own. Palin, on the other hand, was a freaking teenager dependent on her own parents, and perhaps the somewhat loser of a man that fathered her child.
Portman is a celebrity of her own choosing. Palin is a celebrity on the coattails of her mother.
Frankly, there is no comparison. If anything, Huckabee should shut his mouth about Portman, and chastise Palin till the cows come home.
the chaplain
March 7, 2011 at 2:03 pm
SI:
I agree that Portman’s prospects as a parent – regardless of marital status – are far more promising than Bristol Palin’s ever were. As for celebrity status, I’d say that Portman’s celebrity has been earned, not simply chosen, and I agree that Palin’s notoriety has been acquired via her mother’s shabby coattails. As for Huckabee, if he went mute, I’d possibly have to re-consider the god-question.
phhht
March 7, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I am opposed to unwed babies.
— Dan Quayle,
explaining his denunciation of
the TV character Murphy Brown
Kevin Walter
March 7, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Please ask Mike if jesus christ’s mother and father were married? And if mary was only fourteen when jesus was born then you could describe jesus as “the illegitimate bastard stepson of a pedophile.”
phathack
March 7, 2011 at 3:57 pm
One thing that has not been pointed out is Ms. Portman is 29 years old. When it comes to noteworthy and respect she is miles ahead of any thing Huckabee will ever achieve.
the chaplain
March 7, 2011 at 5:57 pm
phhht:
DQ was always good for some laughs. IIRC, Murphy Brown had a more successful run than he did.
Kevin:
I suspect that Mike and other Christians would resort to “special pleading” to answer your question. It would help matters if the paternity question could be settled once and for all, but alas…
phathack:
From what I’ve seen Ms. Portman is more deserving of respect than Mike Huckabee. Of course, she has an advantage since she’s not a politician.
Sarge
March 7, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Suppose we would have woke up one fine morning and had DQ as our prez?
The laughing would have stopped abruptly, I think.
the chaplain
March 8, 2011 at 9:31 am
Sarge:
I was out of the country during Bush 1′s term. Wasn’t the scenario you described a factor in his lost re-election bid?
desertscope
March 7, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Chappy,
You have forgotten a major difference ‘twixt Ms. Postman and Ms. Palin:
I don’t seem to recall ever hearing that Ms. Palin’s people KILT BABY JESUS!!!!
PhillyChief
March 7, 2011 at 11:35 pm
He’s a complete tool, and other Republicans know it. They’ll humor him, and it looks good to be nice to him, but no one is giving him any serious cash and no one will throw their support behind him so he’s just a tool hoping to sell some books and stay relevant. He’s like Newt in that respect.
I haven’t seen Black Swan, but it’s nice to think Portman finally has lived up to the potential she showed in the Professional, because everything else she’s been in since, including those Star Wars Prequels, showed an acting range that could be overshadowed by Leon’s plant.
the chaplain
March 8, 2011 at 9:36 am
des:
It is peculiar that Mr. Huckabee gave the teen-aged evangelical Christian mom a free pass, but had harsh words for the financially independent and professionally successful 29-year-old Jewish mother.
PhillyChief:
Saying that Huckabee is trying to “stay” relevant is pushing things pretty far. He’s never been relevant, and he’s growing less relevant with the passage of time.
PhillyChief
March 8, 2011 at 9:50 pm
The fact that people speak of him at all, let alone in any way related to the 2012 race is relevant enough.
the chaplain
March 9, 2011 at 8:40 am
PhillyChief:
The fact that anyone thinks Huckabee and his
valuesbeliefsideasdelusions are relevant to governance of a 21st century nation with a lot of economic and political heft is, indeed, relevant – and terrifying.Tommykey
March 9, 2011 at 5:44 pm
My latest post addresses Huckabee as well, including his remarks about Natalie Portman. In fairness to him, his remarks about Portman were in response to Michael Medved bringing it up for Huckabee’s comment. It’s not like he just spontaneously started ranting about Portman. Since Medved is a conservative, of course he wasn’t about to try to solicit Huckabee’s opinion about Bristol Palin as well. Don’t get me wrong, Huckabee deserves the flak he is getting, but in this episode, Michael Medved’s douchebaggery also deserves to be called out.
I agree with Philly that Huckabee will never be a “contenda” for the Republican nomination. The Republicans are split between what I call the Wall Street Journal pro-business wing and the Bible Thumpers. Huckabee appeals to the latter but not to the former. Mitt Romney appeals to the former but not so much to the latter, in spite of his pandering to the Religious Right. His Mormonism is probably a handicap as well.
Whatever one thinks of George W. Bush as a president, he was an ideal candidate because he was able to appeal to both the business wing and the religious wing of the Republican Party because of his business background and his attributing his religious faith to overcoming his alcoholism. Barring finding another candidate with the same appeal, the next nominee will likely be a business wing candidate with a Religious Right VP nominee.
the chaplain
March 9, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Tommy:
Your point that Huckabee was just responding to a question is noted. That doesn’t change the fact that Huckabee didn’t say anything about Bristol Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign. As I said in the post, I think he kept his mouth shut then solely for politically pragmatic reasons. In fact, the Republicans and Religious Right tripped all over their own and each others’ feet hailing the Palin family as Pro-Life heroes. Hell, Portman chose to have her baby too; why isn’t she a Pro-Life heroine? Could it be because it’s more politically expedient for Huckabee to call her out than to congratulate her, or at least wish her and the baby well?
I dunno. The RR VP nominee formula didn’t work out so well the last time they tried it.
Tommykey
March 9, 2011 at 6:46 pm
That doesn’t change the fact that Huckabee didn’t say anything about Bristol Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign. As I said in the post, I think he kept his mouth shut then solely for politically pragmatic reasons.
You’re probably right. I have seen some people suggest in the comment threads to posts about this on other blogs is that Huckabee was subtly critiquing Palin, though I am skeptical about that.
The problem with a lot of these people is that they tend to restrict their appearances to programs hosted by those who generally share the same ideology. If Huckabee ever appeared on say the Rachel Maddow show, Rachel would have definitely forced Huckabee to comment on Bristol Palin’s public pregnancy.
I dunno. The RR VP nominee formula didn’t work out so well the last time they tried it.
Yeah, thanks to the Katie Couric interview! I think Huckabee was trying to line himself up to be a saner RR candidate, but he definitely hasn’t helped himself over the last couple of weeks.
The problem the Republicans face is that the RR forms such an important part of their base, any serious contender for the presidential nomination has to give them something to motivate them to go to the polls on election day.
Moe
March 11, 2011 at 2:05 pm
IOKIYAR.
the chaplain
March 11, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Tommy:
Sounds like the way some people interpret their holy scriptures – one just has to know how to read what’s written to understand the hidden text.
Moe:
You’re right. I forgot about that rule for a moment.
PhillyChief
March 12, 2011 at 11:26 am
More Huckleberry bullshit
the chaplain
March 12, 2011 at 11:56 am
Wow. Just. Wow. The good former evangelical Christian pastor Huckabee is a shameless liar. When he’s not Lying for Jesus he’s Lying for Huckabee. The more I see and hear of him, the more I’m convinced that he’s a steaming, smelly sack of shit.