Romney Watch '08 Part X

Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post has a good round-up of the media stories surrounding the '08 Presidential Primaries. He spends the first half looking at media coverage of Mitt Romney, and applies a critical eye to the way that his religion has become such a focal point:

The press seems downright excited at the prospect of the first female president.

The idea of the first black president has journalists all but giddy.

But the first Mormon president? Whoa! That's a different matter.

It's interesting. I don't buy much of the criticism that Romney has changed his tune on abortion and gay rights. I think his policy choices have changed, but his personal beliefs are probably fairly static. I also think abortion and gay rights are ultimately peripheral issues (or at least they should be).