Matt Yglesias

Looking Ahead

May I just say that I, for one, am really looking forward to the 2012 GOP primary. Republicans almost always wind up going with the candidate who’s “next in line.” Thus, this year’s GOP race went through some unpredictable twists and turns but ultimately wound up where one would have expected far in advance — with next in line John McCain taking the ring. But if McCain wins, it’s not really clear who’s next in line. Both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have a solid case to make that they finished second in the primaries. And then there’s Sarah Palin.

And in a lot of respects I think Palin’s emergence has helped make Huckabee look really good. Months ago, he was this social conservative darling with undeniable political talent and a seemingly weak grasp of national policy. But compared to Palin, the guy looks like the most knowledgeable candidate on the planet. And while he has a lot of Palin’s small town charm, he’s actually charming enough that a lot of city slickers find him pretty charming too (sign me up). He’ll have a few years, and a Fox News show, to try to improve his command of various issues and then you could see him being a quite formidable contender. If, that is, he can find a fundraising base.

And then there’s Jeb, America’s next Bush waiting in the wings.

Huckabee: West Bank Forever

The Christian Zionist influence on American — and, I suppose, Israeli — policy continues to be terrifying. Here, for example, Tim McGirk reports for Time on Mike Huckabee:

A trip to Israel does no harm to his standing with American Jews; they are traditionally wary of the Christian right, but might overlook Huckabee’s Bible Belt beliefs on education and abortion because of his backing for Israel. A guest of the Jerusalem Reclamation Project, which aims to move thousands of Jewish families deep into the Arab neighborhoods of this divided city, the ex-Arkansas governor told reporters that he supported Israel’s control over all Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a beacon to the Judaism, Christianity and Islam, he said, “but you can’t have two governments overseeing the same real estate.”

The guitar-playing ex-governor went far beyond the White House view on the conflict, which calls for separate Israeli and Palestinian states. “From the security standpoint, the Israeli state should include the West Bank,” Huckabee said, referring to the territory that is a cornerstone of an eventual Palestinian nation. Huckabee claimed that his views supporting an Israel that expands beyond its pre-1967 borders, were based on “common sense” rather than his own religious beliefs.”Would I tolerate this in my own neighborhood? No,” he said. Many Christian evangelicals believe that it is part of Biblical prophecy that Jews should return to occupy all of their ancient homeland.

Now clearly a certain number of American Jews are already conservative Republicans. But the majority are liberal Democrats who are unlikely to support any aspect of Huckabee’s Christianity-fueled approach to domestic politics. But what’s more, I dare say that few Jews who actually care about Israel’s future are going to embrace this vision. To achieve long-term security, Israel needs a viable peace deal with its neighbors, and that’s never going to happen if Huckabee’s proposals are adopted. And that’s to say nothing of the appalling human rights implications for the Palestinians. Meanwhile, the McCain campaign is now slamming Barack Obama over the fact that one of his informal advisers went to Syria and told the Syrians they should make some concessions now if they want to be able to secure a durable deal under the next administration. And, yes, if you go wildly out of your way to portray what happened, you can spin this as an attack on Obama.