Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — and his membership in the LDS Church — are the topics of a Time magazine cover story and a new "60 Minutes" interview.

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The publicity comes as the 10 GOP candidates for the White House, including Romney and his fellow front-runners, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona's Sen. John McCain, prepare for their second debate next week.

While Romney typically trails in the polls behind Giuliani and McCain, he appears to be attracting the most attention in advance of the debate that will be broadcast live Tuesday evening on the Fox News Channel from the University of South Carolina.

A close-up, black-and-white photograph of Romney dominates the May 21 Time cover that hits newsstands today and asks, "Sure, He Looks Like a President. But What Does Mitt Romney Really Believe?" The cover also refers to a second story, "The Debate Over His Mormon Faith."

On Sunday, Romney will appear on the CBS news program "60 Minutes," talking with interviewer Mike Wallace about several issues related to his religion, including polygamy and premarital sex, as well as the war in Iraq.

Both of the reports focus attention on Romney's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Time asks, "Is it sheer bigotry to say you won't vote for someone because he's a Jew? A Muslim? What about a Mormon?"

In the Time profile, Romney said, "My faith has made me a better person than I would have been." But most of the lengthy cover story deals with his shifting political beliefs as he attempts to appeal to conservative voters.

Romney has been characterized by critics as a "flip-flopper" for campaigning in Massachusetts, where he served as governor, as pro-choice on abortion before adopting a pro-life position after he was elected.

The article questions whether Romney can "convince voters there is indeed a core somewhere in the middle of all those contortions," saying that factor "could determine whether he's in the race for the long haul or just an early, forgettable flash."