RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATIONS
While it appears that Sen. John McCain has
solidified support from evangelical Christian leaders, how solid
that support is remains in doubt, particularly given the amount of
time and energy Sen. Barack Obama and his campaign
have dedicated to speaking to conservative religious leaders.
According to members of the conservative Arlington Group, which
is made of leaders of some of the largest and most influential
faith-based groups in the country and which withheld its
endorsement for President during the Republican and Democrat
primary seasons, Obama has been targeting members for some time,
and some leaders have been coming away impressed.
“[Obama] speaks our language. He seems more comfortable with his
faith. Jesus’ name rolls off his tongue, as do some of the phrases
people of faith tend to use in these meetings,” says an Arlington
Group staffer with knowledge of the meetings. “The same cannot be
said of McCain. The only Republican who has come close to being
this impressive in private meetings was Mitt Romney, but you never
heard our membership say they thought Romney was an acceptable
choice. You are hearing that from some of our membership when
Obama’s name is mentioned. It’s surreal.”
That’s not to say that McCain hasn’t made strides of late. He
has intentionally not sought very public support from evangelical
leaders in an attempt to build support among independents, who
aren’t likely to go for someone openly aligned with the hard right.
Instead, McCain has smartly used surrogates such as Sen.
Sam Brownback, a Catholic convert, and former Sen.
Fred Thompson, who gave the keynote at the
National Right to Life convention last week, to build support for
his candidacy among the evangelicals who make up the conservative
base in the GOP.
OTHERWISE ENGAGED
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s recent engagement
announcement comes at a time when McCain staffers are stepping up
the vetting of possible vice-presidential nominees. Crist, who
regardless of whether he is on a McCain ticket or not, is seen as
critical to the candidate’s chances of winning the White House
given the importance of Florida to GOP prospects.
Crist’s bachelorhood has long been up for discussion in
Washington political salons, and engagement to Carole
Rome, a 38-year-old mother of two, is only going to
increase talk. Crist’s bachelorhood isn’t only being discussed in
Washington. It was a point of conversation among some of the GOP
leaders who gathered at McCain’s Sedona ranch six weeks ago for
what was billed as a “veep sweepstakes weekend” by some in the
media.
“He was the only bachelor there, and it was topic of
discussion,” says an attendee at Sedona. “His companion was younger
than just about everyone other than [Louisiana Gov.
Bobby] Jindal.”
