Romney Update 12/9-16/07

The Romney campaign began the week with the launch of its newest television add in Iowa, which directly compares Romney and the new Iowa frontrunner Mike Huckabee’s records on immigration. Then on Wednesday, the campaign launched a second add in Michigan, this time attacking Senator Clinton.
Reaction to Romney’s speech addressing his Mormonism last week was being analyzed this week, though it appears the speech was not the vote getting “JFK Speech” many Romney supporters were hoping for. A Gallup Poll out on Tuesday found only about 1 in 6 Americans, Democrat or Republican, would vote for a Mormon presidential candidate, no significant change since before the speech. The former governor, however, was focused on Wednesday night’s debate. The main focus of the debate was the deficit and taxes, with less attention paid immigration than past debates. Romney discussed some novel ways for trimming the debt down to size, including cutting back several the of the 13 different programs to prevent teen pregnancy. This was a particularly important debate for Romney, as it was his first debate trailing Huckabee in the polls.
Swirling around the debate was the short sparring match between Romney and Huckabee. Huckabee made several remarks in an upcoming NY Times article that apparently attack Romney’s faith. Before the debate, Romney reacted, saying some aspects of his faith were off the table for discussion. Huckabee then apologized to Romney after the debate, and the feud seemed to end relatively amicably.
Following the debate, Romney picked up endorsements from Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, a former president of the Florida Right to Life, The National Review Magazine, and noted conservative Judge Robert Bork.
Sunday morning, Romney committed a political faux pas: claiming an endorsement he never received. On this morning’s Meet the Press, Romney remarked that he was “pleased to have the support of the NRA when [he] ran for govenor,” an endorsement he never had. He also demanded Huckabee apologize to the president for attacking his foreign policy.

www.mittromney.com
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/mitt-romney