Last week I wrote about John McCain gaining support among pro-life leaders for his consistent voting record on restricting abortion — everything from from federal funding to limits on the procedure itself. On the whole they were enthusiastic in their support, particularly when they drew the comparison between McCain and either of his potential Democratic opponents.

But one issue still troubled some of the pro-lifers — when choosing judges, does McCain owe more fealty to his pro-life roots or to his own personal crusades such as campaign finance reform.

Along those lines, here's an item from last month by Brad Smith, a law professor and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, who said in his experience it's tough to find conservative potential judicial nominees who agree with McCain on both:

"It is very hard, however, to find judicial candidates who think McCain-Feingold is constitutional yet who are also are anti-Roe v. Wade and generally respectful of the Constitution. For anyone with a coherent judicial philosophy of federalism and limited government, the two just don't go together."

And this gets at the deeper discontent many conservatives have for McCain. He's amassed a solid voting record on their issues, garnering a lifetime 82.3 percent rating from the American Conservative Union, but the issues on which he's chosen to make the extra effort usually put him at odds with conservatives.

So when it comes to a McCain administration, does he follow his base or does he follow his heart? Look for pro-lifers to try to make McCain address that point head-on.

— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times