Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee has tried to seize the moral high ground by telling a news conference on Monday that he had made a TV spot to respond to rival Mitt Romney’s attacks on him before deciding at the last second to pull them.

The announcement fell flat with much of the press corps who questioned whether the ploy was perhaps contrived, particularly because he was standing flanked by signs attacking Romney’s policies on everything from his record as a non-hunter to abortion.

He also showed reporters the brief clip which hammered at Romney on abortion, fiscal policy and other issues. Huckabee has been complaining loudly on Romney’s ads which he has told supporters  are plain dishonest.

“We often talk about changing the tone of politics … and sometimes we talk about it and we end up doing the same things,” he said, noting that for him the “tipping” point was the Romney attacks on another Republican rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

It remains to be seen if Huckabee’s ploy finds resonance with his supporters, some of whom have said they admire him for among other things what they perceive to be his integrity, honesty and sense of fair play.

And the Romney campaign seized on that point.

“To say one thing one minute and then turn around and show an attack ad to reporters the next will, obviously, leave folks with a very cynical view of Mike Huckabee and his message,” said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.

– Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young