Ever since Newt Gingrich skyrocketed in the polls, pundits have been asking whether he can persuade Christian conservatives in Iowa and elsewhere to trust him. But conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat writes, “The real issue for religious conservatives isn’t whether they can trust Gingrich. It’s whether they can afford to be associated with him.” Indeed, younger Americans tend to view religious conservatism with suspicion largely because it appears so hypocritical. Anointing a serial adulterer like Gingrich as the movement’s standard-bearer “would ratify all those impressions.”
