Watch Out for the Roundhouse to the Face, Mitt!

Thu, January 03, 2008 - 12:05 PM

Of all the oddities layered into the 2008 presidential campaign, the amount of attention two Republican candidates have paid to Chuck Norris surely ranks as one of the weirdest.

If someone told you a year ago that Mike Huckabee would begin to surge in the fall just about the time he appeared in a viral Web ad with the aging kung fu star, what would you have done?

If you were a fan of Chuck Norris, you probably would have roundhouse kicked that person in his face. But I digress. In the ad (YouTube player below), Huckabee accepted Norris’ support saying, “Chuck Norris doesn’t endorse. He tells America how it’s gonna be.”

(If you have no idea why this is funny, check out this Web site of 100 percent, um, true facts about Chuck Norris, including these gems: “Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his right and left legs,” and “Chuck Norris counted to infinity – twice.”)



Anyway, late Wednesday, a day before the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney released a Chuck Norris Web ad of his own, a rebuttal of sorts to the Huckabee spot.

It uses Chuck Norris as a weapon against Mike Huckabee, which I’m guessing will not make Chuck Norris happy. And no one likes an angry Chuck Norris.

The new ad is worth a look, though it lacks the homespun charm and odd humor that made the Huckabee/Norris spot an Internet sensation. It’s called “Roundhouse Kick” and it contrasts Chuck Norris' take-no-prisoners approach to criminals with Huckabee’s pardons as governor of Arkansas.

Here’s a link to the ad. For those of you who cannot watch the video at work, the script is below.

Script For "Roundhouse Kick"

ANNOUNCER: "Two good men, both into fitness. Both love Chuck Norris.

"But where do they stand on crime?

"Chuck Norris: 'give a presidential pardon to no one, ever.'

"Norris subdues criminals with just an icy stare.

"And Mike Huckabee? He granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 convicted murderers.

"Huckabee granted more clemencies than the previous three governors combined.

"Chuck Norris, Mike Huckabee. Now who deserves the roundhouse kick?"

--By Sean Mussenden