Mitt Romney is fighting over his faith and positions on abortion not with the religious right, as had been expected earlier in his campaign, but with Al Sharpton and the press, all to his benefit. Sharpton's remarks about Romney's Mormonism allows Romney to defend himself from one of the most-hated members of the cultural left and make him look less like an outsider and more at home among social conservatives and the religious right.

Each attack on Romney's religion from outside social conservatives and the religious right gives him another chance to speak about how he shares the same values as others without having to defend or dismiss the significant theological differences that constitute a large gulf between Mormonism and mainline Christianity, as would certainly happen with an attack by Christian figures on the right.

More importantly: as Romney gets hit by people like Sharpton or other left-wingers, he may, in the eyes of some, look like the singular Republican fighting on behalf of the religious right against the left. Romney may not share the theology of the religious right, but by getting attacked over broad matters of faith from the left, he shares in their fight.

Romney didn't pick a fight with Sharpton, but he did with the press (albeit gently) on Monday's "Hannity and Colmes." After being asked what accounted for his switch to being pro-life, Romney said, "had I been pro-life and then changed to pro-choice, no one would ask the question," and later continuing, "it's like the media can't get enough of how - why did you change?" Romney put the onus on the media to explain why his abortion conversion was being covered so much and why others' changes - presumably Democrats who became pro-choice - have not. Instead of only defending his conversion to the pro-life side, Romney can also attack the coverage of his switch by claiming unfair treatment at the hands of the press.