Romney says he's no front-runner
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney said Sunday he's happy he won the Iowa Straw Poll but doesn't consider himself the front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday, the former Massachusetts governor called Saturday's results "a big start" as a springboard for the Iowa caucuses and beyond.
"I've got a long way to go to become a front-runner," he said on. "Hopefully, I'll become a front-runner or the front-runner in about December or January."
Romney said the straw vote's importance is not diminished because thousands fewer turned out this year than four years ago, or by the fact that Republicans Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Fred Thompson didn't campaign as he did.
"I think if they thought they could have won, they'd have been here," Romney said.
Romney defended his switch from accepting abortion rights to opposing them, saying he is "fine" if some people can't accept that.
"But I'm not going to apologize for the fact that I am pro-life," he said. "And that I was wrong before, in my view, and that I've taken the right course."
Huckabee says he's now top-tier contender
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Mike Huckabee said Sunday he's vaulted into the top tier of Republican presidential hopefuls with his second-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll.
The former Arkansas governor grabbed 18 percent of the 14,000 non-binding votes cast Saturday, well behind first-place finisher Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, but ahead of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and the rest of the Republican pack -- including Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Fred Thompson, whose names were on the ballot but who didn't campaign.
"It wasn't just that we surprised people with a second showing. It's that we did it with so few resources," Huckabee said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Huckabee, who spent under $100,000 in the straw poll run-up, said he wants to see the Republican Party become more “Main Street.”
"We need to quit being a wholly-owned subsidiary of the major fund managers on Wall Street and start being more concerned about people out there in places like Iowa," Huckabee said.
He said growing up in a working-class family, along with his 10-plus years working with a Democratic legislature in Arkansas, gave him the skills to lead the country.
Brownback not giving up
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Despite a third-place finish in the Iowa Republican presidential straw poll, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said Sunday he's not throwing in the towel.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," Brownback said he thinks a third-place finish in Saturday's straw poll is "a ticket forward" to the Iowa caucuses next year.
"Well, I wanted to win it. But we're still in it," he said.
Brownback said his experience with foreign policy -- he led a Middle East subcommittee -- gives him an important edge against the other GOP presidential hopefuls in 2008.
"I really think ... this next president needs to go into office knowing foreign policy and not learning it on the job," Brownback said.
He said he opposes reinstating a military draft because of the Iraq war.
"We need to keep moving forward with the volunteer Army," he said. "I think the key issue here is getting a political solution in Iraq, so we can start pulling our troops back from the front line."
Brownback said he would send former Secretary of State James Baker to the region to help forge a political solution.
Tommy Thompson abandons GOP ’08 race
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Former Wisconsin Gov. and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson Sunday dropped out of the race for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.
Thompson ended his campaign one day after his poor finish in Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll.
Asked by CNN what caused his poor showing, Thompson said he wasn’t sure.
“There’s no sense in looking back, you know,” he said. “(I) lost.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished first in the Iowa Straw Poll, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
At least three killed in church shooting
NEOSHO, Mo., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- At least three people were killed and several others were wounded Sunday when a gunman opened fire inside a church in Neosho, Mo.
Desiree Bridges, a spokeswoman for the city, told the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader the gunman held about 25 to 50 people hostage briefly following the shooting in the sanctuary at the First Congregational Church.
Authorities said they received a call about the shooting at 1:54 p.m. local time. Police said they secured the scene and began negotiations with a suspect.
The gunman surrendered and was being held at the Newton County Jail. His identity was not disclosed, but Bridges said he was related to someone in the church
Police said they recovered three guns from the suspect.
As many as six people were reported wounded in the shooting.
The shooting occurred during a service for a group of people from the Marshall Islands who use the church, the News-Leader said.
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt offered condolences to the victims’ relatives and the Neosho community. He ordered state officials to assist local law enforcement in investigating the shooting, the newspaper said.
