"Friday Night Lights"

The book of "Friday Night Lights" was most directly about an elite high school football team from the Texas oil patch. There were, however, some high quality political insights that help us understand what Mike Dukakis and John Kerry lacked, and what Mike Huckabee has.

The season was 1988. George HW Bush was running for president in an era in which the Texas-Louisiana oil patch was in a severe depression (not recession) because oil was at an all time low, as low as $11 per barrel, due to Republican policies, namely the mutual defense treaty that President Reagan signed with Saudi Arabia in 1982. Still, Bush 41 managed to win the oil patch in a convincing manner. How?

Author H.G. Bissinger was at his most eloquent when he penned the following passage:

"Dukakis forces in Texas thought they could win the state on the basis of the economy. They thought that the issues of gun control and the Pledge of Allegiance were emotional fads that would quickly die out. They never thought that Bush's rhetoric, a kinder, gentler version of the 'Morton Downey Show' would have much lasting effect. . .

Perhaps just once Dukakis should have left the rarfied atmosphere of Boston and Harvard that seemed to entrap him no matter where he was, hopped in a car by himself, and taken a drive down one of those lonely, flat-as-a-pancake roads to the gleaming lights of a Friday night football game. . . . He could have pulled down his tie and unbuttoned his collar. He could have gone to the concession stand to eat a frito pie and a chili dog . . . he could have sat in a corner of the stands to listen to th econversations around him as well as take note of the prayers both before the game and after. . .

There was a heartbeat in those stands that dotted the Friday nights of Texas and Oklahoma and Ohio and Pennsylvania and Florida and all of America like a galaxy of stars, a giant, lurking heartbeat.

Michael Dukakis never heard that sound, and even if he had he probably would have dismissed it as some silly tribal ritual rite practiced in the Amercian boondocks by people who made no difference. But his opponent didn't make the same mistake."

Gifted politicians understand the heartbeat that lives under those Friday night lights. Bill Clinton understood it. Our current president understood it. Mike Huckabee understands it. They knew how to connect to the people in whom that heart beat, and by connecting on that spiritual level, they could lead and win despite their shortcomings on the issues.

The fact is that Mike Huckabee is connecting to Republicans through religion and values, and is doing so in a way that has obscured his very liberal record on taxes, government spending, criminal justice and illegal immigration. He has lured the Values Voters with the siren song of the Right to Life and preservation of the family, and by parading around his own religion. It is a naked appeal to white, evangelical and mostly southern, rural voters.

It is time for Republicans to awaken from their trance, to steer away from the siren call before it is too late. Fred Thompson understands family values; he has lived family values; he has consistently voted the right way on family values.

For goodness sake, he has a 100% voting record on the Right to Life. He has been endorsed by Right to Life groups all over the country. He has been consistent and strong in favor of the Second Amendment. He has done those things.

But he has not sacrificed in other areas! His record on taxes and government spending would do President Reagan proud. His proposals for Social Security reform are genius. His proposals for tax reform are the best out there. His proposals for illegal immigration reform are the only ones that can be trusted.

We all need to drop what we are doing and win this campaign.