McCain, Huckabee criticize Romney; Clinton says she was involved in husband's administration
The Associated PressPublished: December 31, 2007


DES MOINES, Iowa: Republican presidential rivals joined to criticize Mitt Romney during campaign stops in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire as the rhetoric heated up in the most wide-open U.S. presidential race in half a century.

On Sunday, Arizona Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire called Romney a waffler and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Iowa questioned whether he can be trusted with the presidency, a sign of Romney's strength in both states.

Romney's camp accused the hard-charging Huckabee of "testiness and irritability," a reflection of just how much is at stake in Iowa, which kicks off the election process Thursday with Democratic and Republican caucuses that could propel the winning candidates to their party's nomination.

"Whoever wins Iowa could be the next president of the United States," said Democratic consultant Stephanie Cutter, adding that a compressed election schedule may put a premium on momentum this year "and Iowa can be a rocket booster."

New Hampshire votes just five days after Iowa.

Today in Americas

U.S. candidates scour Iowa for potential voters

2 small states have a loud voice

CIA videotapes created and killed over concerns about image
Candidates who do well in Iowa and New Hampshire can gain momentum and media attention, establishing themselves as front-runners. Those who do poorly often decide to drop out of the race.

The caucuses — simultaneous meetings held at 1,784 locations statewide — begin the process of selecting delegates to the parties' national presidential nominating conventions in August and September.

The dynamics are not quite the same on the Republican side, but Republican consultant Scott Reed said, "There's no question that the condensed calendar has put an added spotlight on Iowa, which is going to make or break three quarters of all the candidates."

Polls show Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards tied for the lead in Iowa. They are closely bunched in New Hampshire, too, where voters are often influenced by the results in Iowa.

The Democratic winner here will be hard to stop, especially if it is a well-funded Clinton or Obama.

As six candidates offered their closing messages on the Sunday morning TV talk shows, Obama acknowledged that the criticism about his lack of experience in Washington might be taking a toll.

"That may have some effect, but ultimately I'm putting my faith in the people of Iowa and the people of America that they want something better," Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Playing the experience card, Clinton told ABC's "This Week" that as first lady from 1993-2001 she was "intimately involved in so much that went on in the White House, here at home and around the world."

While she was one of the most influential first ladies in history, Clinton's experience has been questioned. She did not attend National Security Council meetings, did not receive the presidential daily briefing on terrorism and other threats and did not have a top level security clearance.

She is married to one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton, and his return to the White House as first spouse would break new ground.

"He will not have a formal, official role, but just as presidents rely on wives, husbands, fathers, friends of long years, he will be my close confidante and adviser as I was with him," Sen. Clinton said, adding that attending NSC meetings "wouldn't be appropriate" for her husband.

Edwards said he could not imagine Bill Clinton staying out of the mix.

"I think it's a complete fantasy," he said with a laugh on CBS.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Edwards said he was trying to ease fears about his electability by arguing that his sharply populist message is not polarizing. "It's not divisive at all," he said, "it's uniting."

A former president as the White House spouse would make history, a common denominator of the 2008 contest. The last wide-open race came in 1952 after Harry Truman opted not to run for re-election and his vice president, Alben Barkley, bowed out because of doubts raised over his age.

A new poll of the Republican race in Iowa suggested that Huckabee's surprise surge in Iowa may have stalled — his lead over Romney evaporated. A victory here for Romney would send the former Massachusetts governor to his neighboring New Hampshire with a head of steam.

That explains why Huckabee, strongest in Iowa, and McCain, winner of the 2000 Republican primary in New Hampshire, both criticized Romney.

Huckabee said he may have been hurt by Romney ads and mailings criticizing his record as governor of Arkansas. He accused Romney of running a "very desperate and, frankly, a dishonest campaign."

Romney has repeatedly been less than candid about his record and campaign plans, a fact seized upon by Huckabee.

"If you aren't being honest in obtaining a job," he said, "can we trust you to be honest if you get the job?"

Huckabee defended McCain against negative ads by Romney.

"I felt like that when Mitt Romney went after the integrity of John McCain, he stepped across a line," Huckabee told NBC. "John McCain's a hero in this country. He's a hero to me."

Huckabee scrapped a public appearance at an Iowa church, his only open event of the day, in favor of attending a private service and taping new ads — perhaps to counter Romney's.

United by a common foe, McCain spoke up for Huckabee. "Look, I'm flattered that (Romney) would be attacking me. He's attacking Huckabee in Iowa, who's a good man. And it shows that they're worried," McCain said.

McCain said Romney is "a person who's changed his positions on many issues."

McCain and Clinton received endorsements Sunday from the Concord Monitor newspaper, serving New Hampshire's state capital.

Romney said there's nothing wrong or unusual about pointing out differences on issues. "In this process, people have a real battle for success," he said during an Iowa campaign stop, "but I consider these guys friends."

His spokesman, Kevin Madden, did not sound so friendly about Huckabee and his record as governor.

"It's a record that is tough to defend, so his testiness and irritability when being questioned about it is obvious," Madden said.

Indeed, Huckabee's poll numbers have declined as voters learned about his record of raising taxes, ethical lapses and clemencies for convicted murders in Arkansas.

He has not helped himself with a series of foreign policy gaffes, not the least of which was expressing "our sincere concern and apologies" for the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson told Fox News that Huckabee's comments "are not consistent with someone who understands the nature of the world that we live in ... ."

Trailing in Iowa and New Hampshire, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani scolded Republican rivals for name-calling. "My view is we should be here not attacking each other," he said in New Hampshire. "I don't think you get very much out of it."

___

Associated Press Writers Holly Ramer and Glen Johnson in New Hampshire contributed to this report.

www.iht.com




This ALIPAC member has posted this entity be it editorial opinion, news article, column, or web creation as information for the General Population (public) only. It is not intended as an endorsement for this candidate by this poster. Its use here has not been anticipated to be used as, or used to discredit any candidate mentioned herewith.