John McCain, erstwhile scourge of evangelical Christians, now thinks evangelicals and conservative Republicans are synonymous–and that he’s back in their good graces. Check out McCain’s response to Brian Williams’s question about his low standing in the GOP base during last night’s Florida debate:

Williams: Senator McCain, next question to you. In an interview with our friend, Steve Scully over at C-SPAN, your mother, who has come up in the campaign once or twice, at the age of 95, your mother, Roberta, said that the Republican Party is going to have to, quote, “hold its nose and pick you,” her son, “as the nominee.” In all seriousness — and moms get a special exemption — it’s a notable…

McCain: Thank you very much.
Williams: … it’s a notable quote, because she expresses a view you hear around the GOP, because you haven’t voted with your part on some core stances, like taxes and judges and immigration and campaign reform.
How do you expect to unite a party behind you?
McCain: In all due respect, I love the way you throw all those together. I’m so proud of my record on judges, that those of us who got together and got Justice Alito and Roberts and so many judges together, and I won’t go list by list there, but — point by point.
But, look, I won the majority of Republican vote in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. Most conservative Republicans’ major concern is the threat of radical Islamic extremism.
I’m making my case that I can make America safe and safer, I can restore trust and confidence and that I can make the needed changes to have the fundamentals of our economy which are still strong bring us through these difficult times.
Conservative Republicans are also concerned about climate change that we just mentioned, because of their belief in their stewardship of this planet and our stewardship.
There’s many people who are concerned and have a priority, the independence of the state of Israel. They know that I know how to keep Israel independent, as well.

Fighting Islamic extremism? Getting hip to ‘Creation Care?’ Support for Israel? McCain is laying it on pretty thick for evangelicals, even if he declined to use the “e” word.

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