As '08 race shapes up, is Romney for real?

It would be a gloomy picture were it not for the Reaganesque uplift at the end of his speech. And Romney evokes Reagan in the uniquely soothing quality of his voice.

His voice conveys a sense that the situation – the looming caliphate, the influx of non-English speakers, the relative decline in the number of Americans getting science degrees is quite serious, jeopardizing our future, yet not hopeless.

If he decides to declare his candidacy, Romney will appeal to the social conservatives as the man who battles the gay-marriage forces head on. He lost.

Romney showed up at last December’s meeting of the Federalist Society, the right-leaning group that is the nursery and vetting agency for conservative judicial nominees, to denounce his state’s highest court for discovering a right to marriage for same-sex couples in the 1780 Massachusetts constitution.

“It’s a mistake for a decision of this magnitude to be made by a judicial body as opposed to a legislative body,” Romney said. “The court is basically saying what the majority of the citizens of this state feel on this issue is not relevant here.”

At the Memphis event, the marriage issue was his biggest applause winner. “Every child in America has the right to a mother and a father!” he declared.

In Memphis Romney scored well with the GOP audience by insisting that immigrants learn English: “I say if you’re going to be successful in America, you have to speak the language of America.”

Asked for his views on the immigration bill the Senate is now debating, Romney said he did not know the details, but said of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, “Let’s have them registered, know who they are, those who’ve been arrested or convicted of crimes shouldn’t be here. Those who are here paying taxes, and not taking government benefits, should begin a process toward an application for citizenship as they would from their home country.”

He added, “I don’t believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country. I do believe in insisting that these individuals learn English, pay taxes, and don’t take government benefits.”

Romney wants to smooth the way for more highly-skilled immigrants. “If you graduated at the top of your class at the India Institute of Technology, welcome to the fast track to become a citizen of the US of A. We need your brain power.”

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