Ron Paul Vs Huckabee
Author: Michael Kraft
Published: September 5, 2007
This was the highlight of the debate, and what I saw as the turning point for Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee had been on his way to winning the debate but tangling with an angry Ron Paul left him without much more to say.
He is a fine man, and I think he will get the nod as someones VP choice, but he had no more ammo in his guns other than patriotic slogans while Ron Paul was shoting about the legality of the war as per the Constitution.
Here is the exchange from FOX news.
"Texas Rep. Ron Paul stirred a lot of excitement by repeating his anti-war stance, getting into a sparring match with Huckabee over whether it's time for the United States to leave Iraq.
"Going into Iraq and Afghanistan and threatening Iran is the worst thing we can do for our national security. I am less safe, the American people are less safe for this. It's the policy that is wrong," Paul said, adding that he disagrees with war supporters who warn against leaving prematurely.
"The people who say there will be a bloodbath are the ones who said it will be a cakewalk or it will be a slam dunk, and that it will be paid for by oil. Why believe them?" he asked.
In response, Huckabee said that the United States agreed before the war started that if they break Iraq, it must buy it.
"Congressman, whether or not we should have gone to Iraq is a discussion the historians can have, but we're there. We bought it because we broke it. We've got a responsibility to the honor of this country and to the honor of every man and woman who has served in Iraq and ever served in our military to not leave them with anything less than the honor that they deserve," Huckabee said.
Paul then responded: "The American people didn't go in. A few people advising this administration, a small number of people called the neoconservatives hijacked our foreign policy. They're responsible, not the American people."
Huckabee retorted that the United States is one nation. "We can't be divided. We have to be one nation, under God. That means if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country: the United States of America, not the divided states of America," he said.
"No, when we make a mistake - when we make a mistake, it is the obligation of the people, through their representatives, to correct the mistake, not to continue the mistake," Paul replied.