Mitt Romney gave “The Speech” today in Texas. From the sketchy news reports about the speech, it was a hit. He discussed the role of religion in the public square and specifically the role that his religion plays in his life.

On the Laura Ingraham show, I heard her interview a Rabbi and a prominent Evangelical Minister. They were both supportive of the speech that Mitt Romney gave. They both said that Evangelical Christians and people of all faiths will look at this speech as something they can build on. They foresee a movement toward Mitt Romney of people of faith that had been holding back because of doubts about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

She also had some people call in after her discussion with the Rabbi and the Minister. All of those that called in were moved by the speech. The general consensus was that the speech was a Home Run or better. One person said that Mitt Romney took upon himself the mantle of Ronald Reagan after the speech. He said that because the speech was so good and moving. What made the speech special to these people was the intensity of his emotions. Sometimes Mitt Romney comes across as a robot. He really put himself into this speech and rode the wave of emotion right to the end.

We shall see in the coming days and weeks if the speech had any lasting impression. The initial impression was excellent. The secondary reflection is what is important. Will that remain strong or will it diminish? Mike Huckabee’s comments before the speech showed how shallow he really is. He refused to acknowledge that Mitt Romney is a Christian. In my opinion, if someone says they are a Christian, I will believe them until their actions show otherwise. Mitt Romney’s actions show that he firmly believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He may argue points of doctrine with you, but overall he shows that he follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. That would show to me that he says he is a Christian and lives a Christian life. That would make him a Christian in my book. There are people that say they are Christians that I disagree with, but until they show they do not believe, I will still call them a Christian.

I think what this speech did is give people of faith a place to go. People of faith generally do not want Rudy Giuliani to be the nominee for the Republican Party. Right now, they are split among many candidates. This speech will allow many of them to say that Mitt Romney is someone they can trust to do the right thing.

The interesting thing is that many in Romney’s campaign did not want him to give the speech at all, especially at this time. That he did and with such success shows the great instincts that mark him as a remarkable person.

His opponents have to be worried at this time. For him to give such a dynamic speech in such a high risk situation marks him as someone to worry about. Mike Huckabee is not handling the limelight very well. He was not briefed on the NIE report when it came out and looked stupid in the process. He also looked mean spirited and vindictive to Romney about his religion. That is not a way to show that you want to be a leader of the entire United States. If you only want to be the leader of the Evangelical Christians, maybe you can act like that. Even then, I doubt that many would allow you to be so shallow and mean. Rudy has to worry that the values voters will now get behind Romney. Huckabee is fumbling the ball and Romney looks Presidential. In the Republican primary season, Evangelical voters make up a large portion of the voters. The other candidates might just as well send in their resignations. They have no chance. They had no chance before, but there was a small glimmer of hope that one of the front runners would stumble. Romney clearly did not stumble and took a giant leap forward.

Democrats have to be worried also. Romney put himself head and shoulders above his opponents in the Republican primaries and also the Democrats. He makes all the others look petty and small. When Romney talks about freedom and light, he makes people proud. When the Democrats talk about removing people’s choices, they remind us of why we won the cold war. It was not to embrace what the Russians had; it was to put it in the dustbin of history. Romney has to be considered the front runner for the nomination and the Presidency at this time. He will not be considered the front runner by the main stream press because they are liberals and they cannot see the truth.