Keeping the Faith

But Huckabee does seem to be fine-tuning his message a bit. Over the weekend the former governor, who had previously vowed to end the campaign on a positive note, unveiled a much tougher stump speech to push back against Romney and the Club for Growth, which is spending millions on TV ads attacking Huckabee's record of raising taxes in Arkansas. Huckabee, who until recently referred to Romney in speeches as "one of my rivals," attacked the former Massachusetts governor by name and accused him of running ads that are "desperate and frankly dishonest."

"If a person is dishonest in his approach to get the job, do you believe he will be honest in telling you the truth when he does get the job?" Huckabee said during a meet-and-greet at a restaurant in Indianola. "You need a president who gets the job honestly. Because if they don't get it honestly he probably won't serve honestly."

It's unclear if Huckabee's tough talk will be enough to keep his Iowa dream alive come Thursday. But for now, at least, he's keeping the faith. At Cornerstone on Sunday morning, the former governor listened as Barry preached the virtues of sticking it out in the face of adversity. "You've got to do anything you can to stay in the race, and get your game back on," Barry passionately declared. The preacher was talking about facing down the devil. But the message had resonance beyond the church walls, back out on the trail.

© 2007