Judi Patton: Thumbs up to Huckabee family
Posted February 27, 2007
The GOP has what it calls the Eleventh Commandment and it often prevents primary elections from going nuclear. Brought down the mountain by Ronald Reagan, it states: "Thou Shalt Not Speak Ill of Thy Fellow Republican." There's a corollary to this rule -- a 12th Commandment -- if you will. Avoid, at all costs, saying anything nice about political candidates from the other party, unless they're gravely ill or hopelessly behind.
But Kentucky former first lady Judi Patton, being a Democrat, isn't bound by Republican commandments. When I talked to her on a flight from Lexington to Atlanta this morning, she had nothing but good things to say about Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife Janet.
"They're good people," she said two or three times. She praised their hospitality, their friendly capital city and even the triple-wide mobile home that served as their governor's mansion when the official executive mansion was being renovated.
Mrs. Patton and her husband were flying on from Atlanta to Puerto Vallarta for some time in the Mexico sun. I talked with ex-Gov. Paul Patton about the wild and wooly Kentucky gubernatorial race and I'll post those comments tomorrow. I was really surprised by his comments.