Huckabee Hearts Norris (not Huckabees)

Could Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s recent surge in the polls be attributed to his extensive pop culture knowledge? It’s surprising enough that a candidate, let alone a former Baptist minister, even knows who Chuck Norris is. But Huckabee took it one step further and leveraged the former Internet meme to kick-start his lagging campaign with this ad.

Normally this is the part where I’d bash a candidate for trying to stay hip with the kids by trotting out a tired cliche (paging Mitt Romney and his lame mashup contest). But the ad itself is too damn funny.

When Chuck Norris does a push-up, his isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.

Come on! I don’t care how bleeding your liberal heart is, the man (or at least his campaign manager) knows funny. Unfortunately, Huckabee killed his golden goose by releasing a series of webisodes with Norris that is a lot more Republican dull.

But it’s not just the Internet trends and The Octagon that Huckabee is hip to — check out his views on the movie I Heart Huckabees.

Barely Political, the site behind “Obama Girl,” caught up with Huckabee and asked him about the existential film. Not only had he seen it (he’s from Arkansas, not exactly director David O. Russell’s target audience), he hated it. In fact, he thinks it’s one of the worst films he’s ever seen. At least he’s not waffling on the issue. But can you picture McCain with the same question, or even Hillary Clinton?

Norris made an appearance at the YouTube Debate, which explains why he pops up later on in this video talking about chokeholds (still not as funny as the first time).

Huckabee may or may not have my vote, but for now, he’s got my laughter.