Huckabee Attack Ad Runs Anyway

Summary
The ad Huckabee said he decided not to run has now appeared at least three times in Iowa anyway. It accuses Romney of being "dishonest" but shades the facts in the process.

Update, Jan. 4: The ad ran at least 10 times on four different stations in Davenport and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Huckabee campaign called those airings a mistake.

In another ad Huckabee claims to have signed the most broad-based tax cut in Arkansas history. But as we've noted repeatedly, he signed bigger tax increases than cuts.

Analysis
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee raised eyebrows Dec. 31 when he told reporters at a news conference that he had decided not to run an attack ad calling rival Mitt Romney "dishonest," then ran it in front of reporters and TV cameras anyway. Now it turns out that the ad actually appeared on at least three Iowa TV stations that same day.

Update, Jan. 4: According to the Campaign Media Analysis Group of TNS Media Intelligence, the ad aired three times on the day Huckabee made his announcement, and it aired seven times in the following two days. As of Jan. 2, the most recent date for which CMAG has tallied information on the ad, Huckabee's attack ad had run four times on KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, and had appeared on Davenport stations WQAD-TV, three times; KLJB-TV, twice; and WHBF-TV, once.

When we contacted the Huckabee campaign for an explanation, a representative expressed surprise to hear the ad had been on the air. Later, the campaign issued a statement saying that "the campaign gave their best effort [to pull the ad] by alerting every broadcast station and cable system in the state." The statement also said: "We were informed yesterday that unfortunately a few network affiliates played the ad. We contacted them immediately and they admitted to our buyer that they mistakenly aired."

Misleading Claims
At first we decided not to critique the ad because Huckabee told reporters that he decided against running it. By criticizing its claims we would have to repeat them and expose them to a wider audience. But now the ad has aired several times. In it Huckabee accuses Romney of "dishonest attacks" on him. So how honest is Huckabee's attack against Romney?