OGDEN — A former Republican National Committee chairman from Utah said Thursday that the cost of the 2008 presidential election could reach $3 billion, an amount he termed "obscene."

Richard Richards, who headed the GOP for two years during Ronald Reagan's first presidential term, told a Weber State University audience that presidential campaign costs have more than doubled since the last election.

"It has become obscene. No question about it, the amount of money involved is obscene," Richards said, calling for the campaign season to be limited to just a few months, rather than more than a year.

Most presidential candidates have been raising money since the beginning of the year, even though the election won't be held until November 2008. Richards said they have already taken in more than $400 million, an "astronomical" amount.

The first caucuses and primaries could begin as soon as December. Utah's presidential primary is set for Feb. 5, the same day as a number of other states, including California and New York, will hold primaries.

Richards dismissed the primary elections as little more than popularity contests. "This is baloney, absolute baloney," he said of the $3 million Utah is spending on its primary election. A pollster could determine the candidates' standings in the state for much less, he said.

Polls show former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, is firmly in first place in Utah. Richards, though, said in an interview after his speech that Romney will have a tough time winning the GOP nomination.

"I think he's got two problems. The No. 1 problem is he's a Mormon," Richards said. Romney has also changed his position on several key issues, including abortion, since running for governor of Massachusetts in 2002.

"Those are both very bad issues for victory in the South," said Richards, who oversaw Reagan's 1980 campaign in a number of Western states, including California, and had also worked on former President Richard Nixon's election effort.

"The anti-Mormon stuff is going to get worse and worse. We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg," Richards said. "They won't leave a stone unturned to degrade and bad-mouth the Mormons, the Mormon philosophy."

Still, he said, it's too soon for Romney to address the religion issue directly in a so-called "JFK speech." Before John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960, he gave a speech confronting critics who suggested his presidency would be controlled by the Pope because he was Catholic.

Romney "is going to have to do it, but it's too early," Richards said. Romney should wait at least until after the first Southern primary in January, in South Carolina.

Richards said he supports former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani because "he's the toughest leader." But Richards said Giuliani also lacks support among Southern conservatives because he is pro-choice, and Republicans need to win in the South to win the White House.

Neither Romney nor Giuliani can do that without a vice presidential candidate who is seen as having stronger conservative credentials, such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee or U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Richards said.

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