Axed Huck Ad Highlights Rollins Role

One's a former minister who's taken the high ground in countering attacks from a better-financed rival; the other's a veteran political brawler who never saw a negative ad he didn't like. The Washington Post looks at the unlikely alliance of Mike Huckabee and Ed Rollins that resulted in the candidate's pulling an ad attacking Mitt Romney at the last minute on New Year's Eve—and the odd decision to show it to reporters anyway.

Rollins tells the Post  their good cop-bad cop routine is a perfect partnership—Rollins says “knocking somebody down is a great feeling” while Huckabee says he's teaching Rollins "how to turn the other cheek.” But the New York Times speculates that the incident may have jeopardized the image of unvarnished “authenticity” that's propelled nice-guy Huckabee into the lead in Iowa. (More Mike Huckabee stories.)