John McCain has had a storied career with leading voiced of the Christian Right. He called the late Reverend Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance" in 2000, only to speak at his Liberty University in 2007. He sought the endorsement of the Reverends Hagee and Parlsey, only to reject them after one to many glowing references to a) Adolph Hitler b) a religious war with Islam.

So now the McCain Camp is worried about defections among this group, which would kill McCain politically come November. And they are probably right to be at least a bit concerned:

"I don't know that McCain's campaign realizes they cannot win without evangelicals," said David Domke, a professor of communication at the University of Washington who studies religion and politics. "What you see with McCain is just a real struggle to find his footing with evangelicals."

Family groups in Ohio outlined their doubts about the Arizona senator in a meeting with McCain's advisers last weekend. They're concerned about his record on abortion rights and on campaign finance laws that they believe limited their ability to criticize candidates who are pro-choice on abortion.

"There's certainly a little reservation about Mr. McCain. I think the VP choice is going to be important," said Chris Long, president of the Ohio Christian Alliance. "If they choose a conservative for the VP, that will help his campaign. It would go a long way of sending a positive message to evangelicals."This is why you will be saying hello to VP nominee Romney (even with the Mormon thing--he has shown himsel willing to do whatever it takes), Huckabee or Pawlenty. And you should try and contain your laughter, as I have, every time another rumor of a potential "McCain-Giuliani" ticket emerges.

So McCain will name a conservative to the ticket. But meanwhile Obama will reach out to evangelicals. And if he can win a chunk in a few key states like North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan and Ohio, to name a few, McCain is in deep trouble.

Update: Amy Sullivan, the author of The Party Faithful, has a really interesting piece in Time.com about how well Obama is doing in reaching "religious" Christian voters and how this is bringing about difficult times for the Reverend Dobsons of the world. Definitely worth a read (both, actually).