What the Huck?

Mike Huckabee is neither the craziest nor the dumbest of the Republicans currently nosing about in hope of a 2012 nomination. While we don't share most of his politics, we have always thought that he was a reasonable enough guy.

For example, he has told the Birthers that they "are wasting their time," which is of course the least valuable thing they are wasting with their pernicious mischief.

So why, when talking to a New York City radio station, did the Huckster take a plunge into their tidal pool of delusion, by saying that

President Barack Obama's childhood in Kenya shaped his world view ... [and that] that Obama was raised in Kenya with a Kenyan father and grandfather.

In fact, as the AP/HuffPo story here points out -- and anybody who has paid any attention at all knows -- Obama was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Neither of which is even on the same continent as Kenya. Obama first visited Kenya as an adult. He was not raised by his father, and we don't know offhand whether he ever met his paternal grandfather.

Frankly, we're mystified. Which part of the story does Huckabee not understand? Surely, he isn't dumb enough to be confused about the facts of Obama's life. It is possible that he made an honest mistake but, given the size of the factual error -- it is vast -- we have to doubt the honesty part.

What worries us is the possibility that Huckabee may just say things like this in conversations and interviews, knowing that they are false, but trusting that, in the markets where he usually works -- undereducated rednecks and Fox News viewers, if there is any significant difference between the two -- people will just nod their head and agree, because it fits with their own muddled understanding of the facts.