It is rare to see a presidential candidate’s hopes dashed by a single event, but Mike Huckabee now knows the feeling. The former governor of Arkansas was considered a major contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Though, to be fair, Joe the Plumber is considered a major contender for the GOP. But then a ghost from Huckabee’s past reared his ugly head two weeks ago in Tacoma and murdered four police officers.

Maurice Clemmons was serving a 108-year sentence when Huckabee declared him eligible for parole in 2000, despite hard-fought opposition from the prosecutors. Clemmons was released after serving just 11 years behind bars.

Nine years later, Clemmons decided to add to his resume by gunning down four unsuspecting Tacoma police officers, initiating a two-day manhunt that ended in his own death.

Huckabee now stands alone as he tries to spin his way out of this mess. He has had to dodge logic at every turn in shifting blame toward the justice system for this atrocity. It is the same system that rightly gave Clemmons more than 100 years in prison, only to have politics interfere. The same system that fought a losing battle to convince Huckabee not to set Clemmons free. Yet Huckabee has pointed the finger at them.

Our justice system is one of the best the world has to offer. This is not Italy, where people are convicted based on sensational magazine headlines rather than substantial forensic evidence. Clemmons was convicted and given his lengthy prison term for good reason.

Back when he pardoned Clemmons in 2000, Huckabee cited Clemmons’ age as being unworthy of receiving a 108-year sentence. Clemmons was 16 when he began his term. The former governor considers 16 as too young to deserve such a lengthy sentence, but I think differently. People are capable of terrible destruction at almost any age. Just ask 15-year-old Michael Brewer, who was set on fire earlier this year by a group of people between the ages of 13 and 16. I do not know when the age of innocence ends, but it is before the age of 16.

In further defense of himself, Huckabee has said, “You’re looking at this nine years later and trying to make something as if I can look into the future.” That is exactly what a president needs to be able to do, or at least make it look like he knows how to do. Presidents need to be elected because they have the gift of foresight. Huckabee has not shown this ability.

This is the second time a prisoner has been pardoned by Huckabee and gone on to commit another crime. Huckabee garnered a pardon for convicted rapist Wayne DuMond in 1998. DuMond later went on to rape and kill a woman in Missouri. Huckabee defended himself that time by criticizing those who turned the killing into a political issue, refusing any blame.

A good leader must show signs of foresight and hindsight. Huckabee has failed on both accounts. Huckabee shows a distinct disconnect from the past. Besides ignoring past crimes and inaccurately judging the character of convicted criminals, Huckabee was among three presidential candidates who claimed they did not believe in evolution.

Huckabee is unable to predict future consequences, incapable of learning from the past and unwilling to accept blame. That is not the type of man who should be running our country, and the American people recognize this fact.