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by Jason George

Sen. Fred Thompson apologized today for attacking Gov. Mike Huckabee – not!

In what has to be one of the first uses of the fake-out apology in this race, Thompson’s staff released a sarcastic press release Thursday, that was full of a mea culpa that was nothing of the sort.

It begins:

It then goes on to mock apologize for mocking Huckabee’s past support for lifting the Cuban embargo, tax increases for Arkansans and for ” telling reporters that a BA in Biblical Studies from Ouachita Baptist University doesn’t, in fact, make Huckabee more qualified to fight the war on terror than say…Fred Thompson.”

The release comes a day after Thompson earned attention for his alert and sometimes aggressive answers at Wednesday’s debate

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, hosted by The Des Moines Register. After months of being accused of sleepwalking through the campaign he entered late, Thompson is obviously awake, and he’s making sure Iowa voters know it.

Alice Stewart, a Huckabee spokeswoman, did not return a call seeking comment.