Back in August, I pointed out that two groups made up the bulk of the volunteer foot soldiers of the Republican grassroots — pro-lifers and gun owners. I wondered if Rudy Giuliani had been the nominee, whether these groups would show up, lick the envelopes, knock on doors, work the phone banks, etc., that they did for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

John McCain has pretty solid record on abortion and guns (although activist groups on those issues had a major beef with McCain-Feingold), but he hasn’t been associated with those stands quite as much as, say, Sam Brownback, Fred Thompson, or Mike Huckabee.

Obama’s recent “punished with a baby” comment is noteworthy less for the words themselves than for their motivating impact on these volunteers. Obama’s voting record was clear enough, but these groups now have their red flag of warning on Obama, their motivation to put in the extra hours, their clear sense that despite Obama’s moderate-sounding tone, his election would be disastrous for their cause. (They were already motivated against Hillary for obvious reasons.)