With Barack Obama set to make a controversial visit to Evangelical guru Rick Warren's Saddleback Church today, a top GOP pollster who's worked on Presidential cammpaigns says in an interview that Obama, as well as Dems in general, are positioned to make gains among voters who frequent so-called "mega-churches" such as Saddleback. The adviser, Matthew Dowd, told the Chicago Tribune that his work as President Bush's pollster in 2004 convinced him that the "mega-church" vote is more in flux and far less easy to pigeonhole than many suspect:

Based on exit polls from the 2004 election, Dowd estimates that about half of those who attend mega-churches identify themselves as Democrats or independents, not Republicans. And many of them are less interested in specific issues than in a principled leader who shows genuine faith and can rally them toward greater common purpose, he said.

"People's understandings of faith are not nearly as polarized as people in politics think they are," Dowd said.

He cites the success of Virginia's Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine in defending his opposition to the death penalty in a state where capital punishment is extremely popular. Kaine explained his position as an important moral teaching of his Catholic faith and gained support for taking a principled stand, Dowd said.

In any event, Obama signaled in his speech in June and will reinforce again Friday that he will make faith a part of his public persona.

"Democrats have not been able to use language in a faith-based way," Dowd said. "Somebody is going to see that conversation is not taking place in the right way, and Barack Obama is one person who recognizes that."

We'll be bringing you much more on Obama's appearance at Saddleback later today.