UPDATED with Huckabee comments from Houston.
Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee is drawing quite a lot of attention lately with his meteoric rise in the polls. Now he’s stirring up controversy with a new television advertisement wishing voters a Merry Christmas.
The spot has drawn attention from some because in the background as the camera pans across, the edges of what look to be a bookshelf in the background form a Christian cross. 
“Are you about worn out of all the television commercials you’ve been seeing, mostly about politics? I don’t blame you. At this time of year, sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ, and being with our family and our friends,” Huckabee says in the television spot.
Huckabee denied that it was some nefarious plot to send a subliminal message to conservative voters in early primary voting states.
“They had a bookshelf behind me, a bookshelf. So now I have these people saying, ‘ahhh there was a subtle message there,’” Huckabee said according to CNN. “….I never cease to be amazed at the manner in which people will try to dissect the simplest messages, can’t even say ‘Merry Christmas’ anymore without somebody getting all upset about it.”
But long-shot presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul on Fox News this morning questioned his motives.
“You wonder about using a cross like he is the only Christian or implying that subtly,” Paul said.
This isn’t the first time Huckabee has stirred up a hornet’s nest on religion. Earlier this month the former Baptist minister questioned in a New York Times interview whether Mormons believe “Jesus and the devil are brothers”.
Huckabee later apologized for that remark, which was targeted at rival Mitt Romney who is a Mormon and had been leading in Iowa and New Hampshire.
– Photo credit: Reuters/Keith Bedford
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5 comments so far
Simile Huckabee always has new metaphors. “I never achieved the American Dream like some candidates, like I never finished my masters degree…”
- Posted by JBI’m not pro/anti/anything Christian, but if he’s putting himself out there to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (rather than, say, a Happy Holidays), then what the frick is the big deal if he has a cross displayed somewhere? Surprise! He’s a Christian, and now we all know his secret he keeps in his bookcase.
- Posted by KirThe “floating cross” charge is ridiculous. Are Huckabee critics now planning to ban lines that intersect at 90-degree angles?
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, folks. Loosen up and have a Merry Christmas!
- Posted by MarkIt is ridiculous to interpret a bookshelf in the background as a subliminal message. Huckabee is a “stand-up” guy and if he wanted to push this message across, then he would have stood in front of an actual cross. (It is christmas time). Its amazing what people will say to stop someone from gaining a few percentage points. This all boils down to jealousy and fear of losing the candidate slot/presidency to someone whom Americans actually can relate.
- Posted by JWIHuckabee’s rise in the “polls” is COMPLETELY driven by the Liberal Main Stream Media in conjunction with the Socialist Liberal Democrat Pary of America (SLDPA). They are foaming at the mouth at the prospect of him getting the GOP nomination because, of the top tier candidates, he has the most dirt and thus the most beatable.
The Libs biggest fear is Mitt Romney. He’s the REAL deal, will get the nomination and WILL be elected president of the United States next year.
And you can take THAT to the bank!!!
- Posted by Tom