LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Gingerly, Romney Seeks Ties to Christian Right

[...] Mr. Romney faces one of his most important tests on Friday, when he addresses a gathering of conservative Christians at the Values Voter Summit in Washington. His advisers are still undecided about whether Mr. Romney will directly address concerns about his religion in his 20-minute address and, if so, how much to dwell on it relative to his stances on particular social issues. In the end, they said, because his religion is so personal to him, Mr. Romney’s own feelings on how to handle it will be most important. They made clear it would not likely be a major address on his religion, akin to how John F. Kennedy confronted the issue of his Catholicism in 1960. The decision about if and when to give such a speech, they said, has still not been settled.

Mr. Romney’s advisers, however, believe there is now an opening for him with members of this pivotal constituency in the Republican base. Fred D. Thompson, the former Tennessee senator for whom many conservative Christians had held out hope, has faltered in the rollout of his campaign. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, another potential evangelical standard-bearer, is struggling to raise money. And prominent conservative Christian leaders are becoming increasingly restive about the prospect of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, a supporter of abortion rights, winning the Republican nomination. [...]