Just to show that not all Catholics regard Huckabee with suspicion, I'd like to register how much I approve of the "Education and the Arts" page of his issue profile:
Music and the arts are not extraneous, extra-curricular, or expendable — I believe they are essential.Contrast Huckabee's page with Romney's, Giuliani's, or Thompson's, none of which mentions the arts at all, two of which echo the prevailing view that it's math and science that are "crucial to our security, competitiveness, and prosperity" (Thompson) and which constitute "the intellectual capital and skills [Americans] need to compete in the new global marketplace" (Romney).
[...] Art and music are as important as math and science because the dreamers and visionaries among us take the rough straw of an idea and spin it into the gold of new businesses and jobs. It is as important to identify and encourage children with artistic talent as it is those with athletic ability. Our future economy depends on a creative generation...
I don't expect these pages to reflect much in the way of actual policy one could expect to see during a Republican presidency, and wouldn't want them to — after all, all of the Republican candidates agree that education policy is mostly a matter for the states. (Because being ideologically opinionated doesn't necessarily mean you can't also like federalism.) Still, the symbolism is striking.
Huckabee stands for religion and art class? How long before he gets the coveted Paglia endorsement?
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