MITT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AS GOOD AS W...

Will evangelicals support Mr. Romney if he is the nominee? Yes, and by substantial percentages. Never underestimate the unique ability of President Obama to unify social conservatives, of every faith tradition, around his eventual opponent.

Will Mr. Romney's Mormonism be a negative factor for evangelicals? It will for some, but remember that in Iowa the 60% of voters who identified themselves as evangelicals gave 42% of their votes to a Mormon (Mr. Romney) or a Catholic (Messrs. Santorum and Gingrich), while giving only 38% of their vote to fellow Protestants (Messrs. Perry and Paul and Mrs. Bachmann). So much for narrow denominational prejudices.

One should note also that several prominent evangelicals, such as former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, are enthusiastically supporting Mr. Romney.

Even Pastor Robert Jeffress, who may be Mr. Romney's most vocal evangelical critic and last fall referred to Mormonism as a "cult," has stated: "If it comes down to Romney versus Obama I'm voting for Romney." I've heard the same sentiment from hundreds of evangelical pastors over the past two months. It's not that their stance on Mormonism is softening, but that their distrust and fear of Mr. Obama's policies are increasing.

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