Clinton Advisers Say Edwards Is a Threat

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and new Iowa front-runner, blasted President Bush in a recent article, saying that Bush has pursued foreign policy with an "arrogant bunker mentality." Romney has seized on that phrase, using it at almost every stop in an attempt to appeal to the many Republicans who still like the president.

Standing across the Mississippi River from the Rock Island Arsenal, a major Army weapons-manufacturing facility that employs more than 6,000 people, Romney praised Bush and said Huckabee made "a significant error" by "insulting the president."

"It's one thing to be critical" of policy, said the former Massachusetts governor. "It's a very different matter to suggest that the cause of missteps or mistakes are the result of arrogance or a bunker mentality."

Bush's approval ratings remain historically low. But Romney is hoping to point out Huckabee's "insult" to the Republicans who are likely to participate in the Iowa caucuses in 15 days. Among that group, the president's popularity rating is high.

"The president is a person who is deeply devoted to this country," Romney said. "He is not a person who acts out of arrogance or a bunker mentality."

Romney's message has become all Huckabee, all the time. He no longer mentions Rudy Giuliani on the stump. He doesn't talk about John McCain much. His advisers barely mention Fred Thompson.

The message is being boosted by the efforts of the media, which have also turned their focus to Huckabee's record in the past several weeks. It's working, according to the Romney folks, who say their internal polls show Huckabee's negatives are rising quickly.

But even if Huckabee should win in Iowa, Romney's advisers have a steely confidence that their candidate is still in a good position to win the nomination. They believe Huckabee is a flash in the pan whose rise is similar to that of McCain in 2000, when he gave then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush a scare but ultimately petered out. They note he is struggling in New Hampshire.

McCain is making a similar run in New Hampshire this time, but Romney's advisers, while eyeing him cautiously, don't describe him as a major threat.

They are convinced that Giuliani is too liberal to win, and they are buoyed by recent national polls that show him continuing to drop, and by the former New York mayor's schedule, which has him abandoning Iowa and New Hampshire. During the final push after Christmas, Giuliani is scheduled to go to Florida for three solid days.