Where's Chuck Norris when you need him?

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Where's Chuck Norris when you need him?

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee brought some firepower to the post-debate spin room Wednesday night as Chuck Norris made the rounds touting his favorite candidate.

But Walker, Texas Ranger was no where when a credential journalist from the American Reporter shoved Huckabee's body man to the ground amid a gaggle of press.

The reporter, Joe Shea, was trying to ask Huckabee a question -- which one we'll never know -- when Huckabee's aide Drake Jarman stuck his body between the two and kept Shea away from the candidate, who needed to get to a live TV shot. Shea then pushed (some say threw to the ground) Jarman who fell to the ground. Here's a video that shows parts of the scuffle.

And here's is Shea's version of the events tucked in his debate story. Click below to read the relevant parts.

Told first by The American Reporter that an InstantAdvantage.com "instant poll" of Iowans and tv viewers showed that he had won the hearts, or at least the minds of both, Huckabee shot back - "You know that Iowa poll - they're right!"

Unfortunately, before we could get a few more words out of him a Huckabee campaign aide who had repeatedly jumped in front of me to block my access (apparently so the candidate would step up to the tv platform) chose that moment to block me for the final time, rising up under my arm and forcing me sideways. I guess he moved to my left, and I brushed him lightly with the back of my forearm; he went flying into the crowd of photographers and fell onto his back. I couldn't believe he had actually fallen down - he was several inches taller than me, and an awful lot younger.

The Gov. Huckabee suddenly turned around, saw his man on the ground and pointing at me said "Call security right now!" I tried to protest that I hadn't meant to put his aide on the ground. "Governor," I said, "I didn't mean to knock him down - he kept blocking my access!" That was to no avail - everyone had seen me brush him, I guess. But they hadn't seen me trying time and again to get to the left or right of his back. He had no right to block anyone's access to Huckabee, and certainly not when the Governor was in the middle of answering a question

But there we were, and dozens of photographers and tv cameras started taking pictures as the police, called by some ditzy blonde on her cell phone, decided to take me away. They were generally very well-behaved, but did threaten to taser me, and I ended up getting ushered out of the the Spin Room with nothing worse than bruised elbow. (Later on, I looked at the debate transcript. The very first question Anderson Cooper had was for CNN correspondent Gloria Barger: "Gloria," he said, "a lot of elbows being thrown on the campaign trail the last couple of days. What are you expecting tonight?" "Well, I think tonight you might see a lot of elbows being thrown at Mitt Romney," she replied.)

My poor wife, who shot the Ron Paul interview and was waiting to do others, was worried sick as she watched five police officers leading me away, of course, but that was pretty much the end of it.

I was told by one officer that he was charging me with simple battery, and I told him I would make a citizen's arrest of the Huckabee aide in that case; a wiser head prevailed, and we just ended up going home early. They told me later the other guy chose not to press charges, which was probably more important.

Ironically, my great-grandfather Patrick, who sired the only Republican to win a Manhattan election since Reconstruction and was grandfather to the second winner 45 years later, was killed when he was pushed down a flight of stairs in an election riot at the turn of the century. I should remember that next time I get irked.

So who won the debate? Not me. I apologized as strenuously as I could to CNN's p.r. person, a marvelous auburn-haired woman who brought my wife and I water and was very solicitous, and she understood what I was saying about the affair. The police said the video proved that I was at fault, but I don't know whether they believed there was a provocation or not.

On the way back to the car, a SWAT team member gave me a brief salute. I think he understood.

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From the writers of the St. Petersburg Times, The Buzz offers the latest news in Florida politics. This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the St. Petersburg Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper. You are not engaging in private communication with candidates or Times staffers.

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