Huckabee: DOMA decision may "destroy" Obama
The Obama administration's decision to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court is "very disappointing," former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Wednesday.
In an interview with CBS News political consultant John Dickerson, Huckabee said the decision could "destroy" President Obama, though not marriage itself.
"It may destroy him [Obama], may destroy his credibility, may destroy his campaign and candidacy and ultimately his term in office," Huckabee said. "It takes more than one president to destroy marriage."
In his new book, "A Simple Government," the ordained minister writes that traditional families - those grounded in a marriage between a man and a woman - promote economic stability.
"[Marriage] is the foundational form of government," Huckabee told CBS News.
Huckabee could not remember any major Democratic candidate opposing DOMA during the 2008 campaign. "He himself didn't take this position when he ran for president. I think if he had, he wouldn't be president," Huckabee said.
Added Huckabee: "I think he owes the people of America an explanation - was he being disingenuous and dishonest then, is he being dishonest now, or did he change his view and if he did, when and why?"
Yet the former Arkansas governor is incorrect in suggesting that Mr. Obama did not oppose DOMA as a candidate. In August 2007, campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "He supports the complete repeal of DOMA which is the same position he has held since early 2004."
Mr. Obama himself said the following that same month: "It is my strong belief that the government has to treat all citizens equally. I come from that, in part, out of personal experience. When you're a black guy named Barack Obama, you know what it's like to be on the outside. And so my concern is continually to make sure that the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for all people. That's why I opposed DOMA in 2006 when I ran for the United States Senate."
On Wednesday, Huckabee indicated the president's decision might be politically motivated -- though he also said voters "overwhelmingly" support traditional marriage.
"Thirty-three states have had this on the ballot and in all 33 states, including some of the most liberal states - California and Maine - voters have clearly said we affirm marriage," he told Dickerson. "Not some new kind of marriage, what marriage has always been."
Christine Delargy is an associate producer for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. You can also follow her on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/cbswashunplug.
