by 
Mike Huckabee is a strange candidate. I don’t know if you’ve been reading up on him, but because he’s either #1 or #2 in the GOP polls (depending on the poll), people are taking shots at him. He has a very good “stage presence” but he’s getting nailed for accuracy, some of his policy, and because of some of the things that he says.
The latter issue is the one that Rob takes up over at Say Anything. One on plain, Rob’s asking the question that all Christians ask at one time or another– how to balance God’s sovereignty with man’s free will. In this case, God says that he controls “the heart of the king” and there is also much in the Bible to suggest that he actually controls the outcome of who becomes our leaders (he had the prophets say that Cyrus would not only be king of Persia, but that he would free God’s people to return to Jerusalem, and God also said that Jehoichin’s descendants would never sit on the throne of Israel…)
So, when Huckabee says the following statement, it definitely causes some to have a sense of alarm or unease:
Like God is going to come and stuff the ballot box or something like that.
I do agree that it’s a little bold to say that you are God’s man for the job. To me, it’s scary to say that unless you really are. I mean, if a guy claims to be God’s man and loses, then it wouldn’t necessarily mean that God was powerless, but that’s how it would be represented.
I mean, it’s not unlike Elijah’s test against the prophets of Baal. If God hadn’t answered with fire (and I don’t think it had to come from the sky, but there had to be fire) then the people would have been right to doubt him because Elijah, God’s prophet, said that God would answer that way.
I’m not saying that he’s wrong– I don’t know. I’m just saying that he should be careful about what he says in relation to God and his candidacy, and it should come from a lot of prayer and a close walk with God.
I actually saw an interview with Huckabee after he made that statement, where he clarified what he meant. He said that the only explanation as to why he was doing so well was God. He doesn’t have the money of the other candidates, and in human eyes, he shouldn’t be doing so well.
But, he said, that doesn’t mean he thinks God has appointed him as the next President. God has him doing well right now for whatever reason, but the end result is up to God, and nobody knows what that result will be.
That made sense to me. I also don’t believe that a man should walk around saying that he’s God’s choice to be President. But I do agree that God is the best explanation as to why Huckabee is doing so well right now. Even if he doesn’t win, he’s making people think.
I found that very odd, but on the other hand many people through the ages have claimed that God is on their side. It’s amazing sometimes how he manages to be on so many sides at the same time!
And I could definitely get behind that explanation. I think that there are always a lot of distortions in politics, and it’s interesting to see it as it unfolds this time.
I agree with the first commenter– Huckabee has spent a little over $300,000 in Iowa, versus over $7 million by Romney, and yet he’s in the lead. Huckabee has taken his message to the streets, while Romney has a very detailed reach-every-county plan for Iowa, having people in place in every county to try to win. Campaign-organization-wise, and financially-speaking, there’s no human explanation for why he’s leading the pack.
~Jess