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Huckabee addresses Mormonism in article

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in a coming article, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

The article, to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn't know much about it. Rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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.

Romney did not respond to a request for comment.

ENDORSEMENTS: National Review, a decades-old magazine of conservative commentaries, endorsed Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination Tuesday, while Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the anti-illegal immigrant group Minuteman Project, endorsed Huckabee.

DEBATES THIS WEEK: Cable networks Fox New Channel, CNN, C-SPAN and MSNBC plan to air presidential debates this week sponsored by Iowa Public Television and the Des Moines Register. These are the last debates before the Jan. 3 caucuses. Republicans will debate today and Democrats will debate Thursday. Both debates air at 2 p.m. EST.

CLINTON'S BACKUP PLAN: Hillary Rodham Clinton's backup plan if she falters in Iowa can be summed up in two words: New Hampshire. Her Democratic team is preparing television ads there criticizing rival Barack Obama's health care plan and working to build what campaigns call a firewall. If the Obama presidential campaign ignites in Iowa, she wants to be ready to cool him off in a state where her organization is strong and her support has proven durable. Advisers to the New York senator acknowledge there has been uneasiness as Obama has risen in polls

WEATHER WOES: The major winter storm that hit Iowa on Tuesday slowed things a bit on the campaign trail. Former President Bill Clinton canceled events for his wife in eastern Iowa, and Democrat John Edwards canceled events in Clinton, Davenport and Muscatine.

[Last modified December 11, 2007, 22:04:33]