Given that Larry Craig was Romney’s co-liaison to the U.S. Senate and chairman of his Idaho effort, God-o-Meter would think it difficult for him to score political points from the disclosure that the Idaho senator pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges after being arrested in an airport men’s room. But Romney, trying to sell himself as the GOP field’s values candidate, did what many Christian Right leaders declined to do after recent sex scandals involving Republican elected officials like former Florida Rep. Mark Foley and current Louisiana Senator David Vitter—he immediately denounced the accused. Romney accepted Craig’s offer to leave the campaign, and said his behavior “reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton.… frankly, it’s disgusting” (watch video).

Of course, Romney shouldn’t expect a major bump from his Craig denouncement, but a failure to quickly and forcefully disavow Craig could have hurt him among the pro-family crowd. Considered alongside his TV ad vowing to clean up the culture (watch video) and his drum-beating about his new pro-life stance, his performance today may earn him trust from those voters.

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