Mike to Mitt: So Sorry About Mormon Jab

Candidates make nice; Romney accepts apology

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 13, 2007 4:47 AM CST

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Mike to Mitt: So Sorry About Mormon Jab — Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks in this Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 file photo, in Davie, Fla. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee are struggling to determine the best approach for taking down Romney and elevating themselves two months before... (Associated Press)

Surging GOP candidate Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney yesterday for having asked a reporter if Mormons believed that Jesus and the Devil are brothers. Huckabee said he apologized after the Republican debate in Iowa, and Romney "graciously" accepted. Earlier this week Romney had slammed Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, for his statement, saying it went too far and "It's not the American way."

Huckabee claimed his remarks were taken out of context and were meant to illustrate his unwillingness to answer questions about Mormonism, about which he admits he knows little. He also said a candidate's religion should not be a factor in a campaign. "I told him
face-to-face, I don't think your being a Mormon ought to make you more or less qualified for being a president," said Huckabee. (More Mitt Romney stories.)

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