Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was back in the Upstate of South Carolina this week for a primary election runoff rally and was very impressive in his determination to make national security an issue with which he and the GOP can pound the Democrats in the post-Bush era. Romney told stories from his recent visit to Iraq and Afghanistan and was generally optimistic about the war and the leadership of President George W. Bush. He left no doubt that he would continue an aggressive war against islamofacism and would not revert back to the Clinton-era law enforcement approach to terrorism.

Mitt was also impressive on the issues of family values, vouchers for school choice and his general optimistic can do approach that is somewhat reminiscent of The Gipper.

He is winning over a following in the Greenville-Spartanburg area despite questions concerning whether evangelicals would support a Mormon candidate.

The Upstate of South Carolina, nestled in the Piedmont foothills of the Appalachian mountains is often called the “buckle” of Bible Belt mainly due to the obsession of the Drive-by Media with the location of Bob Jones University in Greenville and its previous policy against inter-racial dating on campus, as well as its theological positions concerning the Roman Catholic church.

The Upstate can fairly be called the “buckle” but not due to that small school. Rather, the region is dominated by Southern Baptists, other evangelicals, and conservative wings of mainline protestant denominations many of whom also have held critical views of the Catholic Church on theological doctrine.

Such views have softened over the years as more catholics moved into the state and fellow Christians have emphasized their common ground, and especially their compatible views on moral issues and family values, especially with regard to abortion.

But the Protestant-Catholic theological divide was near its apex in 1960, when that fact did not prevent John F. Kennedy from winning the state and several other Southern states. This also despite JFK’s famous telephone call to Coretta Scott King while her husband languished in a Birmingham, Alabama jail.

That history, coupled with the pre-eminence of moral values issues within the GOP and the identification of Mormons as often living virtuous lives that, as one baptist preacher noted, “are more Baptist that most Baptists in the pews!”

I do know some evangelicals that balk at voting for a non-Christian for president mainly due to a fear of the influence the office of the President could have on people’s spiritual choices. But I don’t know many that openly say that.

I don’t fear the “cult” label since that term is mainly associated with extreme behavior rather than the more technical definitions related to religious doctrine and since everyone will be able to clearly see that Romney is a regular guy.

The main thing that Romney and any other GOP nominee would have in the general election is an opponent from a democrat party that does not share their values.

Within the GOP, I think Romney can overcome the Mormon issue with his record of accomplishment and competence, shared values, strong conservative record in the liberal lion’s den of the People’s Republic of Massachusetts and creative ideas on education, health care and the economy.

more later…