A Republican Party whose more energetic precincts have been gripped throughout the Obama presidency by a desire to expel moderates and upend the establishment will have put itself in the hands of a candidate who, more than anyone in the race, comes out of a moderate, establishment Republican tradition.<\/p>\n
But to get there \u201d\u201d or get there without a protracted battle \u201d\u201d he will have to fend off efforts by his rivals in South Carolina to emerge as the singular anti-Romney candidate.<\/p>\n
With little left to lose, Newt Gingrich and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas are already assailing him as a heartless job killer in South Carolina, a state hit far harder by the economic downturn than Iowa and New Hampshire were.<\/p>\n
But just fending off that attack may not be enough. He is also heading smack into an issue that has followed him through his national political career: his Mormon faith and the suspicion many evangelical Christians have of it.<\/p>\n