Huckabee To Address Hundreds Of Pastors In Des Moines

But you won't find it on his public schedule.

Today or tomorrow, Huckabee is a featured guest at the latest pastor briefing of the "Iowa Renewal Project," which aims, in the words of an e-mail Don Wildmon sent to pastors, to "encourage pastors and their congregations to take a stand for morality in their daily lives."

Don Wildmon, is, of course, the president of the American Family Association, one of the Project's key sponsors. He's also endorsed Huckabee.

There is no overt coordination between the project, which has affiliates in South Carolina and New Hampshire, and the Huckabee campaign. But to the extent that pastors who attend the project's briefings are familiar with Huckabee and Wildmon's support for his candidacy, Huckabee's rivals worry that the group amounts to a "campaign organization for pastors" operating on Huckabee's behalf.

As an aside, note that former Sen. Maj. Leader Bill Frist helped underwrite the Iowa Renewal Project two years ago when he was attempting to jump-start his presidential campaign.

The briefing takes place the Des Moines Marriott and is closed to the press. Huckabee is listed as a guest on the invitation but does not list the event on the schedule his campaign distributed to reporters Sunday.