Other green-minded financial backers may not be giving as much as Robertson, but they still share the view that climate-change science and a solid environmental agenda wouldn't be a lost cause if Romney won the White House.

"My feeling is that on these issues that people learn," said former Gov. Thomas Kean (R-N.J.), who maxed out last fall to Romney with a $2,500 check. "And my hope is, as time goes on, he will understand that not everybody agrees on how you deal with these issues, but I hope he will agree with 99 percent of the scientists who believe this is an issue that we have to deal with."

As president, Kean said he hoped Romney could duplicate his Beacon Hill successes in building coalitions with Democrats on issues such as energy and the environment. In addition, Kean noted that Romney wouldn't face the same gridlocked climate debate of recent years, in large part because of the boom in domestic natural gas production that's helped lower the nation's greenhouse gas emission levels. "The whole game has changed," Kean said.

Rob Sisson, president of the Republicans for Environmental Protection, said he's scraping together personal funds to write a check to the Romney campaign after getting a chance to meet him for the first time last month during a town hall campaign stop in Kalamazoo, Mich.

"I think his record as governor was pretty good as far as Republicans go," said Sisson, who also gave $1,000 last June to Jon Huntsman's campaign. "I really get the sense from him and the folks around him with whom I've spoken that as president he'd really look at each situation, gather the data and really make a decision that's best for the country."

"If that goes against the grain of how he's campaigning now, so be it," Sisson added. "He's going to be driven by data and facts and not emotions and getting pushed into one corner by one faction of the party."

Gas prices are rising fast, and companies are bracing for the impact -- shedding old habits and adopting new technology.

In an effort to cut fuel costs, small businesses have turned to light trucks retrofitted to carry bigger loads and vehicles that can run on biodiesel. Some are even using special GPS devices that let bosses know when employees keep engines running hundreds of miles away.

The exchanges highlighted Romney's key weakness this cycle -- even as he surges ahead, scooping up primary victories, the former governor seems to be besting lesser opponents on the electability question, not necessarily winning over converts to his cause.

And for the most part, Romney seems to be fine with that. He's clearly not on an ideological mission; he's not desperate to be a movement hero. Instead, in his words and his persona, he remains a data-driven executive who's running a presidential campaign on automatic pilot, pursuing standard conservative remedies without trying to incite resentment..

"There are other folks in this campaign talking about a lot of other things, and that's fine," Romney told the audience, in a subtle shot at former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, his chief rival in the Ohio polls, who frequently speaks about social issues on the campaign trail. "But for me," he said, "the issues are more jobs, less spending, and smaller government."

That message, which has been delivered repeatedly on Romney's bus tour this week, may be enough for him to win this swing state's primary. It may not warm the heart of every conservative voter, but it clicks with the bulk of Republican voters, many of whom told me in Youngstown that economic growth -- not contraception or marriage -- is their number-one concern.

The latest polls show a dead heat. But Romney has closed strong, erasing Santorum's double-digit lead from last month.  Two polls released on Monday -- from Quinnipiac and the American Research Group -- show Romney leading Santorum. A third poll released on Monday, conducted by Suffolk University, shows Santorum leading Romney by four percentage points.

The upward trend has Romney backers optimistic about their chances.