Huckabee makes, pulls, shows attack ad

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - The rivalry between Republican presidential contenders Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney took another turn Monday as Huckabee announced he would kill an Iowa television ad attacking Romney - then played it for a room full of reporters.

Huckabee said he pulled the commercial because he has decided not to hit back against attacks by the former Massachusetts governor. But he said he made sure the ad got seen - despite multiple glitches during his Monday news conference - "because we wanted to validate that in fact, there was an ad."

Polls show Huckabee and Romney running neck-and-neck race far ahead of the other GOP candidates ahead of Thursday's Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the 2008 presidential race.

Romney responded to Huckabee's move by calling it "kind of confusing." And he defended his own campaign, saying his criticism of the former Arkansas governor was based on issues, not a personal attack.