By Eric Pfeiffer, CQ Staff

While Sarah Palin has energized the conservative and evangelical base of the Republican Party, that may not be able to overcome other organizational challenges facing John McCain ’s campaign for president, according to Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

“I, for the first time, see the opportunity for him to be successful in his candidacy for president,” Perkins told reporters this morning at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor. “[But] to think this is a wave the campaign can ride to election-day is not true.”

Perkins, who is in town for the FRC’s annual Value Voters Summit, said that although Palin has helped McCain solidify his support with socially conservative voters, his campaign still trails Barack Obama ’s “ground game,” or the get-out-the-vote effort that was instrumental to President Bush’s re-election in 2004.

While the McCain campaign has argued in favor of Palin’s executive experience as a qualification to be vice president, Perkins surprised reporters in the room by acknowledging that he believes her selection was “purely a political pick.” “Yeah, I think so,” he said.

Perkins also said that while he and other evangelical leaders are enthusiastic about Palin’s stance on social issues, he encouraged reporters to comb through her legislative record to see if those beliefs translated into conservative policies.

“Look at her record as governor, that’s what social conservatives are going to be doing,” he said. “I don’t think those questions have been answered yet.”

Perkins was quick to point out that many social conservatives still have reservations about McCain because of his support for embryonic stem cell research. But he noted McCain has expressed a willingness to “soften” his position in private meetings with Perkins and other religious leaders. Perkins also said McCain has made two other significant moves recently, besides the Palin pick, that have sent positive signals to the evangelical base: His recent appearance at the Saddleback Forum (a televised interview with Pastor Rick Warren), and the writing of the Republican party platform, which Perkins says was less contentious than in 2004. “It’s the most conservative platform the party has ever had,” he said. “I think he has shown through this process that he is listening.”

Some critics of Perkins and other evangelical leaders have said their mostly positive response to news that Palin’s 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant was hypocritical. Perkins disputed that notion, saying his response was consistent with his pro-life beliefs.

“Even though she made a poor choice, she made a good choice by bringing the child to birth,” he said. “If Barack Obama ’s daughter, or anyone else, found themselves in that situation and made the same decision, you’d hear the same thing, at least from me.”

More than once, Perkins attempted to lighten the questioning by making a joke and saying even Christian leaders are entitled to having a sense of humor. When asked what role he envisioned for a Vice President Palin, compared to a Vice President Dick Cheney , Perkins joked, “As vice president, I would hope she’s a better hunter than the current vice president.”