In interview, Romney aligns with Christian right

In an apparent pitch to the crucial evangelical base of the Republican Party, Governor Mitt Romney says he has been ''at the forefront" of the nation's toughest cultural battles and that his values are ''on the same page" with the Christian right.

Romney, a possible presidential candidate, says in an upcoming interview on C-SPAN that conservative values that ''lead to our success as a nation" are ''under attack." He also says that evangelical Christians in Massachusetts have been among his key supporters.

Some political analysts have suggested that evangelical Christians will not support Romney because of theological differences with his Mormonism. Romney tried to dispel that notion during a taping of the C-SPAN program ''Q&A," to air Sunday night.

''I know a number of great evangelicals that I speak with and that are very interested in me and what I stand for," he told host Brian Lamb, according to a transcript of the interview released yesterday. ''We worked together in Massachusetts. They had no difficulty supporting me there."

''And the reason is because I'm at the forefront of some of the toughest issues in the nation that relate to the culture of our land," he said.

''We have dealt with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, and I'm the leader in the fight to preserve traditional marriage," he said.

''We have dealt with stem cell research. I'm the leader in the fight to keep cloning and stem -- if you will, embryo farming from being introduced to the land."

He added that he sought to expand abstinence education in classrooms.

''So we are on the same page on values," he said. ''And that's what evangelicals care about."

The Supreme Judicial Court legalized gay marriage in 2003, over Romney's objections, and the Democrat-controlled Legislature last year rejected his efforts to limit the scope of a bill to endorse embryonic stem cell research.

Romney, apparently referring to his religion, allowed that there would be ''some percent" of the electorate who wouldn't vote for him.

But he said he ascribed to the beliefs of Abraham Lincoln, and a ''political religion" in the United States. ''It's our adherence to the laws of the land, to our oath of office," Romney said.

Romney said that other politicians perceived to have electability issues due to issues of religion -- such as John F. Kennedy, who was a Catholic, and Ronald Reagan, who was divorced -- had far less of a problem than many pundits had predicted.

The reason, he said, was that American voters care more about values than individual theologies.

''They get to know candidates. They learn about their positions," he said. ''And they see whether they have the same values or not. And that sweeps away questions about someone's particular religion."

Voting strictly on religious grounds, he said, is not ''the American way."

''It's certainly not the way in the Republican Party," he said. ''We don't apply religious tests. And I think for that reason, whether it's me or somebody down the road, they are going to get judged ultimately by their positions and their views on the issues and their character and their vision."

As proof, Romney also cited pundits who doubted the ability of a Mormon to get elected governor of Massachusetts, which he called ''one of the most Catholic states in America."

Massachusetts Catholics ''focused on the person and their vision" when they voted for him, he said.

In another development, Romney leaves for Rome on Thursday for the elevation of Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley to the office of cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said.