Prayerful Politics

Some 300 of the Nation's most influential religious and social conservatives gathered quietly in an open-air tent in the hill country of Texas Aug. 26 and 27 to take stock of Rick Perry and his convictions. For nearly five hours that Friday night and again the following morning, the group questioned Perry about his faith, values and record, trying to determine whether his beliefs matched theirs. It wasn't a laying on of hands, participants say, but there was a lot of applause. Organized in part by Rapid City, S.D., furniture-store owner Bob Fischer, the group includes some of the most storied names in the social-conservative universe: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, American Values president Gary Bauer and former Focus on the Family boss James Dobson.

Perry, who helped organize an Aug. 6 prayer service in Houston attended by 33,000, called the much smaller tent gathering in Fredericksburg a "solemn assembly"--an Old Testament reference to the Book of Joel. The governor, joined by his wife Anita, fielded dozens of questions, including several from Dobson about Perry's support for mandatory cervical-cancer vaccines and his 2008 endorsement of Rudy Giuliani for President. "In 30 years," says Dallas evangelist James Robison, "I've never seen anyone submit themselves to that kind of scrutiny."

The gathering, held in the backyard of a top Perry fundraiser, is the first in a series for GOP contenders. But Perry is perhaps best poised to earn the group's support. Vision America president Rick Scarborough was so encouraged by Perry's positions that he endorsed the governor two days later in a conversation with Time.com He's unlikely to be the last to do so.

SWING STATES

Republican Governors Feeling Pain at the Polls

A handful of GOP governors spent the winter and spring cutting benefits, picking fights with public-employee unions and slashing education budgets to ease revenue shortfalls--and they have paid the price in the polls. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's disapproval rating soared to 62% in August, and John Kasich's collective-bargaining legislation faces repeal in Ohio. Others are showing signs of recovery, though: fewer Wisconsinites now support a recall of Scott Walker, and Rick Scott's approval rating in Florida rose to 35% from a low of 29% in May. These executives have followed a wise rule of hard-times politics: do your budget cutting early in your term.

The three stages of voter disapproval

BOUNCING BACK

CHRIS CHRISTIE (N.J.) 47%

SCOTT WALKER (WIS.) 45%

FEELING THE HEAT

JOHN KASICH (OHIO) 36%

RICK SCOTT (FLA.) 35%

IN THE FRYING PAN

RICK SNYDER (MICH.) 33%

ENVIRONMENT

One state is saying goodbye to long lines, incomprehensible readouts and $15 fees. Washington State's ecology department has announced that thanks to improved air quality and more-efficient engines, it will phase out vehicle-emissions testing by 2020. The 30-year-old antipollution program, matched in many states, requires a trip to a testing center once every two years, or annually for vehicles more than five years old, in one of the nation's greenest states.

IMMIGRATION

A Crackdown Postponed