Romney to Give "The Speech"

This to me is a sign of a campaign in big trouble:

DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will give a speech this week explaining his relatively unknown Morman faith to voters, his campaign said Sunday.

The decision, made after months of debate at his Boston headquarters over whether to make a public address about his religion, comes as the former Massachusetts governor's bid is threatened in Iowa by underdog Mike Huckabee. The ex-governor of Arkansas and one-time Southern Baptist minister has rallied influential Christian conservatives to erase Romney's monthslong lead and turn the race into a dead-heat.

Romney will deliver a speech called "Faith in America" at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, on Thursday, outlining his religious beliefs and how they might impact his administration.

"This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected," Kevin Madden, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement. "Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation."

My question is will his speech actually explain Mormonism? That could be pretty dangerous since many of the beliefs frankly sound kind of nuts when you really examine them. My guess is the speech will be focused on more broad terms of religious freedom and the fact that there is no religious test for president.

Still, this looks like a sign of weakness on the part of the campaign. I've said all along that if the media starts doing real investigative work on the beliefs of the Mormon church, Romney is toast.