Head Versus Heart for Iowa GOP
By LIZ SIDOTI - Jan 3, 2008
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iowa Republicans chose between their hearts and
their heads.
Mike Huckabee appealed to emotions, an ordained Southern Baptist
minister with rock-solid culturally conservative credentials who is
beloved by Christian evangelicals influential in the caucuses. Mitt
Romney was the practical pick, an accomplished businessman with a
powerhouse organization and a seemingly endless supply of money to go
the distance -- and thwart the socially liberal Rudy Giuliani.
As the first votes came in, Huckabee edged to a modest advantage over
Romney, with the largest group of Republicans saying in preliminary
results of a pre-caucus survey that the most important quality in
picking a candidate was someone who shared their values.
Somewhat fewer said they wanted a candidate who says what he believes,
while fewer still were looking for experience and a chance to win in
November, according to the poll of voters entering Iowa's caucuses
conducted for The Associated Press.
That couldn't be welcome news for Romney, who has run in part on his
electability.
Faith also appeared to be a determining factor among Republican caucus
participants.
Huckabee had an edge among those who called themselves born-again or
evangelical Christians. More than half of Republican voters put
themselves in that category, and, of those, a significant chunk
supported Huckabee.
Romney, who has struggled to overcome deep skepticism about his Mormon
faith, led among non-evangelical voters by two-to-one or more.
More than a third of Republicans said having the same religious
beliefs as their candidate was very important, and of that group a
majority favored Huckabee. He was also performing strongly among those
calling themselves very conservative, attracting more than a third of
their support -- well ahead of Romney.
After a year of tumult, the race amounted to a classic David vs.
Goliath battle, with a pair of former governors in a high-stakes
slugfest for the coveted prize -- the front-runner mantle heading into
the New Hampshire primary a mere five days later.
Others aimed for better-than-expected showings; Arizona Sen. John
McCain, former New York Mayor Giuliani and Texas Rep. Ron Paul sought
relevancy, one-time Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson survival.
Iowa had the first say in the most volatile, wide-open GOP nomination
race in a half-century, and the state's recent history bodes well for
the caucus winner. It has chosen the Republican who eventually secured
the nomination in the two most recent contested GOP competitions --
George W. Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996.
But unlike back then, there is no establishment candidate this year
and conservatives who make up the core of the GOP's base had nowhere
to automatically turn in the run up to 2008. President Bush is barred
from seeking another term, Vice President Cheney doesn't want the job
and no obvious successor exists.
Thus, conservatives spent much of the past year searching for a
candidate to embrace; they found flaws in each of the many candidates
in the remarkably crowded GOP field.
Then Huckabee got a look.
The former Arkansas governor trailed his better-known rivals in money,
manpower and polls all year before a surprise autumn surge fueled by
fellow religious conservatives vaulted him from the back of the
crowded pack of candidates to the front. With a bare-bones campaign
and modest fundraising, he rolled the dice; he bet his stellar
communication skills and likablity would carry him to a win.
Romney, a self-made multimillionaire who poured more than $17 million
into his presidential bid, sunk $7 million into Iowa advertising to
emerge as the caucus leader for months. But he struggled to overcome
skepticism among many conservatives about his Mormon faith and his
authenticity on issues right-flank Republicans champion. The former
Massachusetts governor pinned his hopes on his organizational strength
and financial advantage.
Romney benefited to some degree from a fear among conservatives that a
backer of abortion rights and gay rights like Giuliani would be the
nominee.
In the end, the race for the gold medal in Iowa boiled down to message
vs. money -- and one of them won out.
http://www.truthandgrace.com/Mormon.htm
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