Romney, falling in IA polls, gives “Mormon Speech”

For months and months and months, there has been speculation that Mitt Romney would give a "Mormon Speech." There have been several reports that this has been an issue inside the usually disciplined Romney campaign. Well. He’s giving it on Thursday. Earlier Romney told the AP:

"I have some folks who think I should do it soon, some say later, some say never, some say right away," Romney said. "I’ll make the decision. But there’s no particular urgency because I’m making progress in the states where I’m campaigning."

Well. There’s urgency now. Romney is now clearly in 2nd in Iowa. There is now clear evidence that Romney’s religion is hurting him in Iowa, something that we predicted early on based on the strange makeup of the caucus electorate.

This is probably the clearest evidence yet that the Romney campaign understands how precarious its position is in IA. It will not be enough to simply attack Mike Huckabee in Iowa. Romney will have to find a way to build trust over their barrier of his religion. This is probably his last chance, and it is a … hail mary.