Romney facing challenges in presidential bid

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a topsy-turvy Republican race for the 2008 presidential nomination, conservative favorite Mitt Romney suddenly found himself under threat in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire on Monday, less than two weeks before voting begins.

Shifting opinion poll numbers showed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee within 1 percentage point of Romney in Iowa and Arizona Sen. John McCain within 3 percentage points of Romney in New Hampshire.

The changing fortunes provoked a slew of headlines focusing on difficulties for Romney, 60, and coincided with an editorial in a leading New Hampshire newspaper, The Concord Monitor, rejecting his candidacy and accusing the former Massachusetts governor of flip-flopping on the issues.

Build a candidate from a kit and you would get Romney, the editorial said, with his athletic build, charismatic speaking style and handsome looks.

But the result, it said, is "a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped."

"When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it," the Monitor said. "Mitt Romney is such a candidate."

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden played down the significance of newspaper endorsements and attacks, saying they were "not as important as the endorsement of the individual Republican voter."

He said the campaign had always known the race would narrow as the contests drew closer and that Romney's organizational efforts to boost voter turnout would make the difference. He also took a swipe at Huckabee, 51, and McCain, 71.