“Americans do not respect believers of convenience. Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.”

Well that’s the rub, isn’t it?

Initial impression: He warmed up as he went along but the first part when talking of his own faith seemed stilted and tentative. (The audio on the feed was poor however.)

The Speech was fine but there of course is an inherent contradiction — he will say just enough about his religion to make certain voters feel warm and fuzzy (Christ is son of God) but no more. Although he disclaimed it a good chunk of The Speech was in fact a JFK type plea for tolerance and a pledge to separate his particular faith’s principles from the task of governing. The second part of the stump was fairly standard fare about religious faith as a foundation of American values. On balance, I don’t see that people who had a problem before will be persuaded nor did he make strides in appearing “more real.”