I thought I didn’t like Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor of Arkansas and 2008 presidential candidate, before this week. When news broke of an interview in which Huckabee ripped Natalie Portman for having a baby “out of wedlock,” however, it became apparent to me that I underestimated the amount of dislike I really harbored for him. Additionally, Portman is one of my favorite actresses, so this discussion is personal.
Last Monday, Huckabee went on “The Michael Medved Show,” a conservative talk-radio show on Salem Radio, to promote his new book. However, the only thing he wound up promoting was his own ignorance.
The hailstorm of ill-formed opinions began when the host, Medved, commented on Portman’s acceptance speech for her Best Actress Academy Award. He said, “Portman says, ‘Oh, I want to thank my love and he’s given me the most wonderful gift.’ He didn’t give her the most wonderful gift, which would be a wedding ring! And it just seems to me that sending that kind of message is problematic.”
Before Huckabee even begins to speak, we can see the stupidity of the argument presented. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if Portman graduated from Harvard or if she got her first Academy Award nomination at 23. If she’s pregnant and unmarried, it’s all for naught.
After the host of the radio show was finished yammering, Huckabee felt the need to give his two cents on the matter.
“One of the things that’s troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, ‘Hey look, you know, we’re having children, we’re not married, but we’re having these children, and they’re doing just fine,’” he said. “But there aren’t really a lot of single moms out there who aren’t making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie…most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that’s the story that we’re not seeing, and it’s unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out of children wedlock.”
Wow. I don’t even know where to begin talking about that profound piece of insight. Let’s begin by addressing the fact that Huckabee groups Portman with all single mothers in the United States. According to the actress herself, she’s in love with the father of her child, Benjamin Millepied, and the two are engaged. So, in what sense is Portman single?
Huckabee’s assumption that unmarried mothers and single mothers are one in the same demonstrates an underlying misogyny that Huckabee doesn’t even realize he exhibits. By grouping Portman, who’s in a committed relationship, with single mothers, he assumes that a woman’s worth is based upon her marital status.
Additionally, his reference to how “most” single mothers are uneducated and poor proves how out of touch he is with reality. Yes, it may be true that “many” single mothers are struggling, but it’s just not true to say that “most” are “very poor” and “can’t find a job.” The U.S. Census Bureau says that 79 percent of single moms have a steady job, but it doesn’t surprise me that Huckabee overlooked this statistic.
Now, let’s move on to the real meat and potatoes of Huckabee’s statement. I am thoroughly confused by Huckabee’s opinion that Portman is sending a bad message. She’s an acclaimed actress with a Harvard degree and she’s not even 30. Even though she’s extremely busy, Portman still finds time to do philanthropy work and she’s not afraid to speak up about injustice. Because she’s accomplished so much at such a young age, it would be easy for her to get a big head, but she manages to stay humble.
It’s clear that Natalie Portman is a great role model for women. If Huckabee thinks that young girls are going to go on a sexual rampage because they see Portman with a pregnant belly, he’s more delusional than I originally thought.
And Huckabee wasn’t even finished speaking. He dropped this little gem after all of his previous crazy comments: “…across the board, 41 percent of all live births in America are out of wedlock births. And the cost of that is simply staggering.”
The cost is “staggering” because of improper sexual education in schools, not because Natalie Portman is pregnant and unmarried. If Huckabee were president, however, the “cost” would only increase because he doesn’t believe in sex ed. Abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy, in his opinion. Yeah, that’s what Bristol Palin thought too before she got pregnant.
Speaking of Bristol Palin, we’ll never know what Huckabee thought of her because he’s never said anything about her publically. Interesting…
Emily O’Donnell is a sophomore in the College of Communication and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at emilyod@bu.edu.
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