Romney's Religion speech

Romney's giving a big speech on religion this week but will it do him any good? As I said on the show, Romney's big problem is not religion, but authenticity. Romney is seen as the GOP flip flopper-- Now I don't think he's a Republican John Kerry, but the label clearly has some sting to it. Romney was running as the conservative anti-Giuliani. Problem is, Republicans weren't necessarily looking for the perfect conservative. As some columnists have pointed out, the war on terror has become a social issue. That explains the support Giuliani has among evangelical Christians and socially conservative Republicans (plus, Giuliani has done some changing to make himself more palatable.

To me, Romney has always seemed to be running as someone he is not. He needs to shake that awkwardness and command his strengths. I am not a Giuliani supporter by any means, but I understand his appeal. At certain times, he possesses that intangible quality of leadership that makes you want to follow him. And right now, with the dangers and challenges we face, people are looking for leadership--that "I'd follow him to hell" quality.

If Romney can use the attention from this religion speech to really focus on something else that would illustrate his strengths and maybe attack Democrats, it could get voters to give him another look. One problem though--poll after poll has shown Huckabee supporters to be the most devoted to their candidate, so Romney will need to appeal to Thompson and McCain supporters before they too join the Huckabee camp.