It is rare to see candidates in the same party being so disputatious about their opponent. But with a wide open race for the presidency, it seems as if candidates are leaving no stone unturned and no rule unbroken as they throw dirt at each other in the waning days of the race in Iowa:

On Saturday, Mr. Huckabee unveiled a pugnacious stump speech, tearing into the credibility of Mr. Romney, the Bush administration’s handling of the war and “East Coast establishment Republicans” in general.

On Sunday, Mr. Huckabee continued his barrage of attacks on the credibility of Mr. Romney as they head into the Iowa Republican caucus. Defending his characterization of the Bush administration’s “arrogant bunker mentality” toward the Iraq war, Mr. Huckabee accused Mr. Romney of hypocrisy for demanding an apology to the administration.

“He himself had talked about the major mistakes that had been made by the administration,” Mr. Huckabee said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “He demanded of me an apology, but he didn’t demand of himself an apology for also being critical, as have most Republicans.”

Rudolph W. Giuliani wrapped up his final campaign swing here in Mount Pleasant on Saturday night and left, with no plans to return to the state before the caucuses.

His campaign began re-branding Mr. Giuliani as the candidate of religious conservatives, or values voters, handing out glossy pamphlets featuring the endorsement from the Rev. Pat Robertson and a quotation from Mr. Giuliani in large letters: “My belief in God and reliance on His guidance is at the core of who I am.”