Huckabee Backtracks On Natalie Portman Comments

Mike Huckabee has issued a statement to clarify his remarks about Natalie Portman‘s womb:

Contrary to what the Hollywood media reported, I did not “slam” or “attack” Natalie Portman, nor did I criticize the hardworking single mothers in our country. My comments were about the statistical reality that most single moms are very poor, under-educated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death. That’s the story that we’re not seeing, and it’s unfortunate that society often glorifies and glamorizes the idea of having children out of wedlock.

So what exactly did he say? On The Michael Medved Show, the host had lamented that Portman’s fiance, dancer Benjamin Millepied, “didn’t give her the most wonderful gift, which would be a wedding ring!” Both men seemed blissfully unaware that Portman is engaged. Huckabee eagerly took it up:

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.’ But there aren’t really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie. And I think it gives a distorted image that yes, not everybody hires nannies, and caretakers, and nurses. 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.

You know, right now, 75 percent of black kids in this country are born out of wedlock. 61 percent of Hispanic kids – across the board, 41 percent of all live births in America are out of wedlock births. And the cost of that is simply staggering.

We’re touched by his concern for female-headed households, we really are. Too bad the Republicans in the House are busily trying to cut funding to programs that aid them, including WIC and Head Start, as well as to programs that prevent unwanted pregnancies. And never mind their celebration of Bristol Palin, who was exactly like Portman, except without the dozen-odd years of professional accomplishment, education, and life-living, and the stable partnership. In any case, this is not about a celebration of some pregnancies over others. It’s about meddling into the bodies and life choices of women without anything but rote concern for the actually vulnerable.

The Most Important Form Of Government Is A Father, Mother, And Children [HuckPac]
Earlier: Mike Huckabee Attacks Natalie Portman For Glamorizing Single Motherhood