Tom Tancredo, the Colorado politician who once compared Miami to ''a Third World country,'' is the only Republican presidential candidate who will be absent from the Univisión Spanish-language debate in Coral Gables next month.

It's not likely many Floridians will miss the Colorado congressman, though. He's polling in the single digits -- 1 percent -- and admits his chances of becoming the party nominee are ``a long shot.''

Low poll numbers aren't stopping other lesser-knowns, such as Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter, who followed Arizona Sen. John McCain in September in announcing they would participate in the debate. That led to a domino effect that prompted all the other top-tier candidates to agree to the debate. The other holdout, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, announced Tuesday he will be there.

The debate, to be carried live nationwide by Univisión, will be held Dec. 9 at the University of Miami.

Tancredo spokesman Alan Moore had no explanation for the congressman's absence. He sent a link to a CNN interview Tancredo gave the day after the Democratic presidential candidates held the first-ever Spanish-language debate. At that point, only McCain had agreed to participate in a Republican version and it looked like it would be a bust.

`WHY SPANISH?'

''Why is it, in order to speak to [Hispanics], you have to speak to them in Spanish, or you have to be translated to them in Spanish?'' Tancredo said on CNN. ``If you are going to vote in this country, you should be a citizen. To be a citzen in this country you should know English.''

Tancredo, whose maternal grandparents on both sides emigrated from Italy, last year sponsored bills to make English the official U.S. language and, in 2003, introduced the Mass Immigration Reduction Act which would have phased in an an indefinite moratorium on immigration to the United States.

But it was his dust-up with former Gov. Jeb Bush a year ago that has earned him a place in South Florida political history. In an interview with WorldNetDaily, Tancredo referred to Miami as a ``Third World country.''

Bush wrote him a letter, saying he was ''naive'' and then told reporters: ``What a nut. I'm just disappointed. He's from my own party. He's a Republican. He doesn't represent my views.''

Tancredo replied and pulled no punches: 'I certainly understand and appreciate your need and desire to try and create the illusion of Miami as a multiethnic `All American' city,'' he wrote. ``I can also appreciate . . . that the cultural and ethnic diversity of the city offers many advantages to its residents. However, it is neither naive nor insulting to call attention to a real problem that cannot be easily dismissed through politically correct happy talk.''

A month later, Tancredo attempted to smooth the waters by appearing as a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Miami. But the event was canceled after the owners of the restaurant, the Rusty Pelican on Virginia Key, claimed they wanted to preserve ``the integrity and reputation of the business.''

BOYCOTT THREATS

The restaurant manager said the restaurant had received threats from customers that they would boycott it if Tancredo was allowed to speak.

That prompted Tancredo to accuse Miami of being in the ''clutches of the radical multiculturalists'' and declared that, ``I knew speaking your mind could be dangerous in Havana -- I guess it's equally dangerous to do so in Miami.

``Apparently, there isn't much of a difference between the two anymore.''

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