Huckabee Apologizes For Mormon Remark

(CBS/AP)  Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee says he has apologized to rival Mitt Romney for questioning whether Mormons believe Jesus and the devil are brothers.

On CNN, Huckabee said he told Romney "face to face" after today's debate in Iowa that he was sorry for the quote from an article to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine.

Huckabee told CNN that he had asked if Mormons believe Jesus and the devil are brothers because it was something he had heard, adding that he never thought his query would appear in the story. On NBC's "Today" show, Romney said "attacking someone's religion is really going too far."

Huckabee says he told Romney today that he would never make an issue of any point of Mormon doctrine, adding that the former Massachusetts governor's response "was gracious."

Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, told CBS News' Scott Conroy the apology was accepted.

"He believes that appeals to prejudice have no part in this campaign," Fehrnsstrom said, referring to Romney. "While it's fair to criticize an opponent's record or policy positions, it's out of bounds to question a person's religious beliefs."

Asked earlier if he believed Huckabee was speaking in a coded language to evangelicals, Romney praised his rival as a "good man trying to do the best he can," but he added, "I don't believe that the people of this country are going to choose a person based on their faith and what church they go to."

Huckabee maintains that his question in the interview was taken out of context. A statement from his campaign said the full context of the exchange shows Huckabee illustrating his unwillingness to answer questions about Mormonism and theological issues.

"Governor Huckabee has said consistently that he believes this campaign should center on a discussion of the important issues confronting our nation and not focus on questions of religious belief," said Charmaine Yoest, a senior adviser.

"He wants to assure persons of all faith traditions of his firm commitment to religious tolerance and freedom of worship. Governor Huckabee believes that one of the great strengths of our nation lies in its diversity of thought, opinion and faith," Yoest added.

But Huckabee's campaign did not provide more information about the exchange, which the magazine reported this way in the article by Zev Chafets: "I asked Huckabee, who describes himself as the only Republican candidate with a degree in theology, if he considered Mormonism a cult or a religion. 'I think it's a religion,' he said. 'I really don't know much about it.'

"I was about to jot down this piece of boilerplate when Huckabee surprised me with a question of his own: 'Don't Mormons,' he asked in an innocent voice, 'believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"'

Huckabee has been surging in recent opinion polls, taking the GOP lead in Iowa and pressing closer to Rudy Giuliani in polling.

The former Massachusetts governor also was asked why he used the term "Mormon" only once last week in a highly publicized speech about religion in which he said he was proud of his faith.

"Actually, we prefer the name 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,"' he said. "'Mormon' used to be a nickname and I don't use it a lot, but now and then I do because people know what faith I'm referring to, and I talked about 'my faith' a number of times, and I don't imagine anybody is confused about what faith I have."

The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account.

A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.

"We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all," said the spokeswoman, Kim Farah. "That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for."

Romney also defended his first negative ad of the presidential campaign in Iowa, where Huckabee has erased Romney's long-standing lead in the polls. The spot, which began airing Tuesday, highlights Huckabee's support for in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants when he was governor of Arkansas, as well as his support for their being eligible for scholarships.

"It's not negative; it's accurate," Romney said. "It's an ad that shows the differences on a very important topic, and actually, if you agree with Mike Huckabee's positions, it's a positive ad for him. If you agree with my position, it's a positive ad for me."

Romney dismissed Huckabee's rise in the polls - saying he's seen similar surges from GOP rivals John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson - but he said scrutiny will follow his rival's rise to the top tier.

"I think Mike was desperately hoping that we would get through this without people taking a close look at his positions and his record, but his record on immigration, on pardons for criminals, on reducing the penalties for meth lab dealers, on taxing and spending - he increased spending from $6 billion to $16 billion. I think those features in his record will cause those numbers to turn around," Romney said.

[hwy71so]

From what I''ve read and seen, Ron Paul is an impeder. His people interupt conversations of others, crowd discussion forums with off-topic agenda and are too cheap to contribute to a cause, but still want to be heard regarding that cause.

[bennyblack1]

uh...who''s Ron Paul? (snicker)

[bennyblack1]

dutch;
It is not the job of a politician to expose heresy. It''s the job of a politician to do what is best for the United States, and "We The People," morally and ethically. I believe that both Huckabee and Romney will do that. But, Romney, I believe, is more level headed, and more able to get the job done. Joseph Smith is not running for president, and Romney understands that. Huckabee needs to get the point, though, that Jesus Christ is not running for president, either. Jesus Christ is already Ruler of the Universe. It is the men themselves. The sooner Huckabee realizes that, the better off he''ll be.

[bennyblack1]

yongamerica;
you really need to understand the world''s definition of "child of God" and God''s definition of a child of God. A child of God is either the physical bloodline of the Jews via Abraham or one who has been spiritually adopted by God through the acceptance and active belief in Jesus Christ. This is the Bible''s description of a child of God. Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ are enemies of God and children of the devil.
While the world''s definition of a child of God is true in a broad, bird''s eye view, by virtue of the fact that we were all created by some higher power (we all were borne of Adam and Eve), the difference is in our moral character and our attitudes towards God and Jesus Christ. So, an atheist who spits on God, and fights him with all his might, and shakes his fist at the heavens in defiance may be a child of God by virtue of Adam and Eve. But all his actions against God prove that he is a child of the devil. He can change and accept Christ, and change his attitudes...and become a child of God.

[bdrlnt4rl]

mormons believe that our forfather were inspired by God when forming our country and that their faith is the only one that i know of that makes this statement and that is part of their belief to believe and support the government and its laws. they are truly patriotic.

[fibonacci_]

jan-beetle, wow that is some pretty wacky stuff. Cant understand for a second how someone could believe all that. Its all so complicated too!

[hwy71so]

I does not matter how one means something if the recipient chooses to understand it in another way.

[jackie0428]

Let there be no mistake: they are running a weak group of Democrats, and they are fighting among themselves so much that they will become even weaker. I have correctly predicted the nominees and the winners of the last 6 Presidential elections, and although predicting for 2008 is tough, I%u2019m going to now predict the race for next year. For Republicans, I see Mitt Romney getting the nomination. He%u2019s the best leader, best speaker, best debater, and most intelligent of the bunch. Rudy will burn out. Rudy has too many skeletons and a temper. Huckabee has too little name recognition and his last name is killing him; sounds too much like a hillbilly. Thompson is lazy and too slow. Ron Paul: you got to be kidding. For the Democrats, it%u2019s more a process of elimination: Obama? Sorry, but there is simply no way mostly-conservative America will nominate a black man named Barack Obama; not seeing this happen at all. Edwards? Too wimpy and whiny; he looks and talks weak. All the others are not well known and have incredibly small numbers. Clinton looks like the one who will stay on top. For the 11/08 general election, it will be Romney vs. Clinton. Look for a brutal summer next year of Hillary vs. Mitt. Because Hillary is a polarizing figure, and there are over 20 million Americans who have said they will not vote for her no matter what, I see Romney winning a very close one in the election, with about 5-to-10 more electoral votes than Hillary. The next President will be Mitt Romney.

[jan-beetle]

According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (Mormons) own web site. They say that Jesus is the brother of Satan. Here''s the link.
http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,11-1-13-6,00.html

So what is Huckabee apologizing for? It is a fact, not a smear.

[mcharlton]

The LDS spokeswoman was right. That "innocent question" is most often asked by people who wish to smear our doctrine. Innocent question? No. Hypocrite and two-faced? Yes. He was trying to throw in a cheap shot and as soon as he dropped in the polls, he backed off and apologized. So far Romney''s taken it like a real gentleman.