Mike Huckabee, Bill Clinton, and Wayne Dumond

So Mike "More Fundie Than Thou" Huckabee is officially announcing that he's running for President. Goody.

Atrios wondered yesterday if Tim Russert, in talking with Huckabee on this week's edition of Meet the Press, would let the words "Wayne Dumond" pass his lips. Well, Russert won't, but I will.

See, Wayne Dumond was a pawn used by Mike Huckabee to attack Bill Clinton in the most vile way imaginable -- and considering the Arkansas GOP ("Justice Jim" Johnson especially) was already spreading the fake Clinton-fathered-a-black-hooker's-kid story (which became the basis for Joe Klein's book Primary Colors), I think you know that this has to be pretty vile indeed.

The short version: Wayne Dumond raped a cousin of Bill Clinton's in Arkansas and was jailed for it, but Clinton's oh-so-moral Republican political opponents, among them Mike Huckabee, worked to free him, alleging that he'd been "framed" -- and then Dumond went out and killed another woman.

The longer version? Just click here.

UPDATE: Atrios has now weighed in at length, with a view to emphasizing the roles played by the Freepers and assorted media folk who should have known better.

UPDATE #2: Wow. This is an honor. Both Murray Waas and Max Brantley -- two guys who in a just world would have the money Jack Welch has now -- have written in to ask me to link directly to Waas' groundbreaking original reporting from 2002 on the Wayne Dumond case. With pleasure, gentlemen!