Mike Huckabee -- Madness personified.

17 Jan 2016

If you haven't seen Mike Huckabee's closing comments at the January Republican debate, then I encourage you to watch this 1 min 58 sec video clip. To breifly summarize, the first half of the clip is Huckabee explaining that he was not a career politician. Presumably this is required fare in the current anti-establishment environment. In the second half of the clip he, in essence, says "vote for me because I support using the 10 commandments as a basis for American policy both foreign and domestic." Clearly I'm paraphrasing a bit, which is why I think viewing the video is well worth while.

Let me offer the 10 commandments for your consideration, just in case you have forgotten them, as I had.

The 10 Commandments List in Exodus 20:2-17

1. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.
8. “You shall not steal.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

The 10 Commandments List in Deuteronomy 5:6-21

1. “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4. “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.
8. “You shall not steal.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Regrettably I had to present two versions, since both are found in the bible. The commandments with significant differences are highlighted. Which is the REAL word of god, I leave it to you to decide.

The minor inconsistencies aside, which of these 10 commandments would function as a basis for American policy? As I went through them, one by one, giving each careful consideration, I found zero. None of the 10 commandments would serve as a foundation for American policy. That's not a very good batting average, or completion rate or whatever sports metaphor you prefer. If you look at these 10 statements and see them as fully consistent with the US Constitution or in any way relevant to executing the duties of the President, then you are a madman. Although, in this case, a madman that is basically functional for most everyday tasks. In this context "madman" means someone who is so delusional as to be considered to have lost touch with reality with regard to a particular issue.

Also included in the second part of Huckabee's closing statement was the appeal to prayer. Huckabee would have you believe that in difficult times, when level-headedness is at a premium, he will release whatever tenuous grasp on reality he has and ask a make-believe spirit entity to guide his hand as he makes life and death decisions. Such thinking is insane, literally, insane. It would be like asking a wee-gee board whether or not to invade a Middle East Country. A person who appeals to and listens to magical beings should never have access to the power wielded by the President of the United States of America. 

I wish I could say that Huckabee is the lone candidate that walks with one foot on each side of the line that separates reason and sanity from insanity and delusion, however, he is not the only one.

Let me conclude with my list of candidates, who through their own words and actions relative to their beliefs in prayer, magical beings, and the use of the bible as an instrument of democracy, have demonstrated that they are psychologically unfit to hold the office of President of the USA.

1. Ben Carson
2. Rick Santorum
3. Ted Cruz