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GOP Candidates Spar In Iowa

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By MARK Z. BARABAK and MICHAEL FINNEGAN, Los Angeles Times

Published: December 13, 2007

JOHNSTON, Iowa - Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney on Wednesday for raising questions about the Mormon faith, again pushing religion to the fore of an increasingly bitter fight for the Republican presidential nomination.

The controversy, which overshadowed a GOP debate here, came less than a week after Romney, who had been leading in Iowa polls, delivered a speech aimed at overcoming any political impediment posed by his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And it was the latest instance of the newly ascendant Huckabee having to explain his statements now that he is facing closer scrutiny.

The fracas stemmed from comments Huckabee made in an interview with The New York Times magazine, set to appear this weekend. The former Arkansas governor - an ordained Southern Baptist minister - was asked if he considered Mormonism to be a "cult or religion."

"I think it's a religion. I really don't know much about it," Huckabee replied.

Then he posed a question of his own: "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

A church spokesman refuted the notion, as did Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.

"I don't mind if people running against me want to point at my record, as long as they get it right and they want to talk about where I stand on issues," Romney said."

"Contrast over issues is totally appropriate as part of the political process," Romney said. "But attacking someone's faith, that's simply un-American."

Huckabee's surge in the polls - he is now leading in some Iowa surveys - has stemmed from strong support among evangelicals, many of whom view the Mormon faith with a mix of suspicion and hostility.

Still, the latest back-and-forth overshadowed Wednesday's debate, the last time the GOP contenders were to share a stage before Iowa begins the presidential balloting Jan. 3.

Democrats will hold their final pre-caucus debate today. The GOP session was the first since Huckabee's surge and many campaign-watchers were expecting a contentious affair. Instead, the debate was the most sedate of the 12 the Republicans have held. And the only criticisms of Huckabee were mild, delivered in passing or with a smile.

Huckabee set off brief flurry when he said education was not a federal issue and then described himself as "a passionate, ardent supporter of having music and art in every school for every student at every grade level."

"That's not the job of a president," responded Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado. "It is the job of a governor. That's what you should run for if you want to dictate curriculum."

Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was thrown on the defensive by a question about city accounting maneuvers that obscured expenses for the police security detail provided his then-girlfriend, now wife, Judi Nathan.

"All that information was available and known to people," Giuliani said, adding later, "I think I've had both an open, transparent government and open, transparent life."

Some of the sharpest exchanges were between frustrated candidates and the moderator, Des Moines Register Editor Carolyn Washburn, who said one of the hottest issues in the race - immigration - was not a topic for discussion and often cut off answers to keep within her prescribed time limits.

At one point, former Sen. Fred Thompson refused when candidates were asked to raise their hands to say whether they thought global climate change was a serious threat caused by human activity.

"You want to give me a minute to answer that?" Thompson asked.

"No, I don't," Washburn replied.

"Well, then I'm not going to answer it," Thompson said.

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