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Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on Sunday aggressively defended his participation in a controversial infomercial that peddled an all-natural cure to “reverse your type 2 diabetes," saying the treatment has been mischaracterized and stressing that he is no longer involved with the company. ... Huckabee, who last week launched his second presidential bid, has been criticized for appearing in — and receiving money for — a "Diabetes Solution Kit" infomercial that makes medical recommendations to diabetics that are not supported by the American Diabetes Association. (DelReal, 5/10)

Jeb Bush used his commencement address at Liberty University in Virginia on Saturday to attack the federal government and courts for restricting the rights of religious believers. The former Florida governor ... belittled the Obama administration's effort to mandate health insurance coverage for contraceptives. Noting that the Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious non-profit, is among the groups challenging the so-called "contraception mandate" in court, Bush said, "From the standpoint of religious freedom, you might even say it's a choice between the Little Sisters and Big Brother — and I'm going with the Sisters." (Wolfe, 5/9)

Likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush called on fellow Christians to stand up for their values and against what he described as a federal government meddling in matters of faith, making a direct appeal to religious conservatives in a speech at Liberty University Saturday. ... Bush also touched on the topic of abortion in his 30-minute speech, saying, “Wherever there is a child that is waiting to be born, we say, ‘Choose life,’ and we say it with love.” (Vozzella, 5/9)

His allies believe that if and when conservative activists take a closer look at Bush’s record and message, they will find his anti-abortion, pro-school choice views acceptable, and his deeply held faith relatable. He was introduced by Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of the university (and the son of a prominent evangelical leader with the same name) as “a hero of the right-to-life movement” after his involvement in the Terri Schiavo case, keeping a woman in a vegetative state alive against the wishes of her husband, but in keeping with her parents’ hope. ... For Bush, the appearance was more staid, less personal — he didn’t discuss his own path to Catholicism, the religion shared by his wife — and the applause lines, especially at the beginning, were somewhat scattered, though Bush picked up steam when he decried what he characterized as the Obama administration’s incursions into religious freedom. (Glueck, 5/9)