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There He Goes Again: Mike Huckabee Scolds Natalie Portman

1 year ago
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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is having himself quite a week. After suggesting that President Obama is anti-British because he grew up in Kenya (wrong!), Huckabee picked on Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman for supposedly bragging about having a child out of wedlock.

In an interview Monday with conservative talk show host Michael Medved, Huckabee said not every single mom is "making millions of dollars" for a movie role and can afford "nannies, caretakers and nurses" for their kids. It's unfortunate, he said, that "we glorify and glamorize" having children outside of marriage. And he said it's troubling when people see a "Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, 'Hey look, you know, we're having children, we're not married . . .'"

On his Facebook page Friday, Huckabee insisted he did not "slam" or "attack" Portman, but said she was an "extraordinary actor," deserving of the Oscar. "My comments were about the statistical reality that most single moms are very poor, under-educated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death," he wrote. "That's the story that we're not seeing . . . " He said he was glad to hear that the pregnant Portman "will marry her baby's father."

In addition to his social commentary, Huckabee is promoting a new book, "A Simple Government," and trying to decide whether to run for the Republican presidential nomination again next year.

Portman, accepting her award Sunday night for "Black Swan," thanked her fiance, Benjamin Millepied, for giving her "the most important role of my life" as a mother.

Huckabee is not the first high-profile Republican politician to stir controversy by taking on a famous actress regarding the ethics of single parenting. In 1992, then-Vice President Dan Quayle criticized a plot line on the popular Murphy Brown television sit-com wherein the divorced title character, played by Candice Bergen, becomes pregnant and decides to have her baby. Quayle suggested single motherhood was being portrayed as just another lifestyle choice. It didn't work out too well for him. The New York Daily News headlined its story: "Quayle to Murphy Brown:You Tramp!"

As to where President Obama spent his formative years, Huckabee said it was just a slip of the tongue during a radio interview: he meant to say Indonesia, not Kenya, which was once under British colonial rule. But then, if he meant Indonesia, why would he think Obama became an Anglophobe . . . Oh, never mind.

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38 Comments

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merreprankster

Get off of Natalie's back. So she's pregnant, white, and fair game, even though she is capable of supporting the kid without public assistance. But, say something about a black woman doing the same thing (70% of black babies are illegitimate) and you're a racist. Let's level the board.

March 08 2011 at 9:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lady

How many of us are patently equipped to morally judge another?

Focus on something else, Huck!

March 08 2011 at 7:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
rbromama

Mr Huckabee and his followers are all into being Christian and following the "word" but what they don't understand is that dividing the country is counterproductive to the comeback of the American philosophy. That philosophy has been always in effect that you can be different and have alternative views both political and social but in the end, every American has the right to respect for his/her views regardless if the elected party/official disagrees. Mr. Huckabee doesn't understand that politicians are elected to serve "All Of The People", not just the ones who espouse his and his party's views...If the conservatives would understand this, we could do better in the eyes of the world.....

March 08 2011 at 7:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ttdq

Does anyone really care about a Natalie Portman and why? Ok, so the little rich girl is expecting. She has all kinds of possibilities. She could marry Charlie Sheen and they would make a perfect couple in Hollywood. While we concentrate on these two, Lybia is burning and Obama is out playing golf for the 60th time since becoming president. That's how much America cares about anything other than itself. Good grief.

March 06 2011 at 10:03 AM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
punnster

Who cares what Huckabee thinks? Considering how Obama keeps apologizing for America, he must not have a very high opinion of America.

March 06 2011 at 1:48 AM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply
chouchou56

In his rant regarding Natalie Portman's unmarried pregnant self-did he have a memory lapse? Did he not recall a far younger, far less educated BRISTOL PALIN? Natalie supports herself, works, is getting married, has her education, and seems to be rather level-headed. Bristol was at numerous campaign functions as an unmarried pregnant teen with no education and no job(and apparently missing school to go campaigning).....but Natalie is the bad one? Really???? I have been a lifelong Republican-but this sort of thing makes me REALLY want to change. As one poster pointed out-I thought the Republican party was for LESS government sticking its nose into private business! Huckabee seems unaware of that particular plank in the platform.

March 05 2011 at 11:33 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
Larry

Huck, Palin, Newt - this IS the Republican party. Vote Republican.

March 05 2011 at 3:27 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
zygi & paris

Huck, just keep on with the rag stuff, but please, please stay out of politics.

March 05 2011 at 8:47 AM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
atlasusa

What would YOU, Mike Huckabee, have advised? Terminating her pregnancy? So it seems.... so it seems.

March 05 2011 at 7:42 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
mjk258

Comparing Natalie Portman and other financially single mothers to single mothers living in poverty is like apples and oranges. My daughter is now 33 and will be getting married in June, until she met her fiance about 3 years ago, she was thinking of she might eventually have a child out of wedlock, but not until she was ready both financially and emotionally, bit difference from a 20 year old unemployed single mother.
As for the Lautenberg comment, the GOP does the same type of things too. I recall how opposed many Republicans were to Hillary Clinton running for the Senate in NY when she ran after establishing residency, then a couple years later the GOP did the same thing with the candidate that ran against President Obama for the Senate. Oh and then there is always Dick Cheney changing his residency back to Wyoming to run as VP so they woudln't have two Texans on the ballot.

March 05 2011 at 6:45 AM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply

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