LOS ANGELES - Pastor Jay D. Cole had two close friends. One was an inmate in the Arkansas state penitentiary, Wayne DuMond. The other, Mike Huckabee, went back to when Huckabee was the youngest-ever head of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. The two men produced Bible lessons on videotape.
A little more than 10 years ago, the paths of these three men merged at the state capital in Little Rock, where Huckabee was the new governor.
With Cole's urging, and with DuMond insisting he was "born again," Huckabee played a key role in setting free a rapist who was supposed to serve many more years, say three of the seven members of the state board that paroled DuMond.
After being released, DuMond moved to Missouri, where he suffocated the mother of three in a Kansas City suburb. Police suspect that he killed another woman there, as well.
Now he is facing questions about whether his deep Christian faith - what he says on the stump "defines me" - colored his view of DuMond's case.
Trying to bury any doubts, Huckabee said this week that he had "considered" - but then rejected - the idea of using his powers as governor to commute DuMond's sentence and release him for time served.
It was the parole board, Huckabee said, that unlocked the cell door.
"It was a horrible situation, horrible. . . . I wish there was some way I could go back and reverse the clock and put him back in prison," the candidate said at a news conference last week.
Though he acknowledged discussing the case with the state parole board, Huckabee said, "I did not ask them to do anything."
Three board members recalled it differently. They said Huckabee raised the issue of DuMond's release, asking to discuss the matter with them in a closed session.
They said his religious beliefs, and the influence of the evangelical community from which he sprung, drove him.
"We felt pressured by him," said board member Ermer Pondexter. "I felt compelled to do it. . . . It was a favor for the governor."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Edwards says the promises of NAFTA were 'empty'
DERRY, N.H. - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said yesterday he wants to replace the empty promise that NAFTA would create millions of jobs with his own promise to be a tough negotiator on trade deals.
On the 14th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Edwards condemned the deal that lowered trade barriers between the United States and Canada and Mexico, arguing that it has paved the way for a series of deals that put the interests of multinational corporations ahead of working families.
"NAFTA was sold to the American people with promises that it would grow the economy and create millions of new jobs. But today, we know those promises were empty," he said. "In all three countries, it has hurt workers and families while helping corporate insiders."
The former North Carolina senator said more than 1 million American jobs have gone overseas because of NAFTA, and that up to 30 million more could follow in the next decade.
"Those who support it said it was good for America, but there would be 'losers,' which is how they describe middle class working families who lost their jobs," he said. "Unfortunately, some of those families are families that I know very well."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Civil rights leader calls Obama too young for job
ATLANTA - Civil rights leader Andrew Young says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is too young and lacks the support network to ascend to the White House.
In an interview on the political webcast "Newsmakers Live," Young also quipped that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has her husband behind her, and that "Bill is every bit as black as Barack."
Young, a former United Nations ambassador and colleague of Martin Luther King Jr., made the comments during an appearance on "Newsmakers Live," an Internet forum that interviews prominent Atlanta personalities and political figures.
Excerpts of the interview were posted on Newsmakers Journal, the forum's website, though the date of the appearance was not included with the video posting. Young was scheduled to appear on "Newsmakers Live" on Sept. 5, according to a press release.
Repeated efforts by the Associated Press to reach Young were unsuccessful. Obama campaign officials declined yesterday to comment on Young's remarks.
"It's not a matter of being inexperienced," he said. "It's a matter of being young," referring to the level of maturity that is required for the job.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
