"The Speech"

So now Romney decides to give "the speech"--the discussion of religion that he has been contemplating lo these many months. It's hard to avoid the suspicion that the only reason it's happening is that he's now behind in the polls in Iowa, and so must do the thing he'd hoped to avoid having to do. It's also hard to avoid thinking that this is coming too late to help him with the evangelical constituency that is its object. A month ago, evangelicals seemed to be in search of a candidate, and so were prepared to jump Romney's way if he gave them sufficient reason to do so. But now they seem to be coalescing around Huckabee, one of their own.