Romney Hopes To Ease Qualms On His Faith

Washington Post: GOP Candidate Will Deliver Different Message From JFK 47 Years Ago

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Michael D. Shear and Alec MacGillis.

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Fighting to save his faltering presidential campaign, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said Monday that he will reassure Republican voters that his religious values are the same as theirs and that he believes faith has a place in political life and governing.

Rather than hoping that voters will look past his Mormon beliefs, Romney will confront the issue of his faith directly in a speech on Thursday, stressing what he calls a "common heritage" in America that unites people of different religions around a common set of moral beliefs.

"I'm concerned that faith has disappeared in many respects from the public square," Romney said at a town hall meeting here. "I want to make sure that we maintain our religious heritage in this country -- not of a particular brand of faith, if you will, not a particular sect or denomination, but rather the great moral heritage that we have."

It is a different message from the one John F. Kennedy delivered 47 years ago in what was considered a turning point in his presidential campaign. In that speech, Kennedy sought to save his bid to become the nation's first Roman Catholic president by promising Americans that he would not mix the religious and the secular or take directions from the pope.

Half a century later, Romney, another Massachusetts politician, faces questions about his religion that could doom his presidential ambitions. But his audience is as different from Kennedy's as is his message.

To emerge from a crowded and unsettled field of Republican candidates, Romney must convince evangelical voters and Christian conservatives that as a Mormon he shares the same moral underpinnings they have, even if the teachings and traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it is officially known, are foreign to them. And he must do it, his top advisers believe, without engaging in a point-by-point theological argument.

Romney said Monday that he will not attempt to be a "spokesman for my faith," despite the curiosity of many about the church's distinctive traditions, which are centered around the belief that its founding prophet, Joseph Smith, found golden tablets in Upstate New York transcribed with a sacred text and left behind by ancient Israelites who once inhabited America.

"I'm not running for pastor in chief," he told reporters. Pressed to say more about his speech, Romney smiled broadly and said, "Ahhh, you are just going to have to wait and see."

The Mormon Church is estimated to have nearly 6 million members nationwide -- about 2 percent of the U.S. population. The church has no full-time clergy, relying instead on laymen to lead local congregations (a role Romney has served). The church discloses little about temple rituals or its financial holdings, which are thought to be extensive.

Questions about Romney's faith -- he would be the first Mormon president -- have swirled around his campaign. Romney has for months publicly expressed little desire to confront the issue directly, usually referring questions about his faith to Web sites run by the church.

But there are only 30 days left until the Iowa caucuses, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, has surged into the lead in that state largely by courting religious voters. Romney and his advisers have decided that he can no longer ignore the elephant in the room. The speech, to be given at the George H.W. Bush presidential library at Texas A&M University, will be titled "Faith in America."

Aides said the latest polls, showing Huckabee in the lead, had no bearing on the decision, which they said Romney made a week ago. They said he wrote a draft of the speech Thursday night at a hotel in Boca Raton, Fla., a day after last week's CNN-YouTube debate. On Saturday, he and his top advisers went through the draft "paragraph by paragraph" while they were stuck in Des Moines during a snowstorm.

But Huckabee's strength in Iowa, particularly among evangelical voters, is the latest sign that Romney's efforts to appeal to the Republican Party's conservative base have failed in at least one key respect. In Iowa, religious voters make up as much as 40 percent of caucuses, making that vulnerability potentially fatal to his campaign in that state.

"He's speaking to an audience of social conservatives who want to hear that his faith informs what he does, and he lives in an environment where every candidate is expected to say that, especially so in this case since he's been running as a social conservative," said David Campbell, a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame.

Campbell said it is not surprising that Romney would take a different approach than Kennedy's. "The political environment has changed too much, and his previous statements and the way he's run his campaign aren't going to allow him to do what Kennedy did," said Campbell, who is Mormon.

Romney's top advisers portrayed their candidate's decision to talk directly about his religion as a very private one in which they offered advice and then backed off. "It's like telling someone who they should marry," one top aide said. "It's kind of personal."

And while they support Romney's decision, his advisers acknowledged that there are risks in highlighting a sensitive issue that can provoke passionate responses on all sides.

Romney's speech is sure to be received poorly by some in the general electorate who see a bright line between religion and governing. The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said many Americans are discomfited at the thought of Romney's religious values being the driver of his actions and policies as president.

"This is an indefensible position for a candidate to take and would be wildly different than Kennedy's brilliantly articulated address," Lynn said. "If he's talking about values, he ought to be talking about the values of the Constitution, not his personal religious values."

And as Romney seeks to assure evangelical voters that his fundamental religious values and beliefs are not so different from theirs, there is the chance that some within his own faith -- which has provided a linchpin of financial support for his candidacy -- will accuse him of misrepresenting Mormonism and blurring distinctions to curry favor.

In the first three quarters of this year, Romney received $4.8 million in contributions from residents of Utah, more than from his home state of Massachusetts, and more than from any other state except California. Utah is about 60 percent Mormon. And the political action committees he used to prepare the way for his run were fueled by six-figure checks from wealthy Mormons such as the Marriott hotel family.

There have been scattered criticisms among Mormon bloggers about some of Romney's statements on the trail. But many in the Mormon Church are sufficiently pragmatic and proud of Romney that they will probably resist criticizing him, Campbell said. "You may hear some grumbling among Mormon bloggers," he said, "but the overwhelming consensus is that Romney really is thought of as a pioneer."

[mudrose-2009]

At least he didn''''t rendition them to Boston on top of his station wagon as he did his Lab...

Posted by Prinzowhales

Does he have a White Lab? They''re very pretty ...should rendition them atop a wagon.

[rowdytexan2]

...and the answer is, pay them in Pesos so they have to go home to spend it! lol

...and how many years has Mr. Romney been using this company? And he is so busy he never thought to check? Yet he greets in Spanish because they can''t speak English? I''d hope he gave a little more forethought on his way to the White House each morning to work. Just so he won''t be doing stuff like yelling rhetoric at Iran when they''ve not had a nuclear weapons plan for four years! I guess these republicans are just so busy they ''forget'' to check these thangs!

Oh, I was so busy I forgot to check where umpty trillion taxpayer dollars were disappearing to right under my nose! Oh, I forgot to check with the people to see if they REALLY need all that health care. Oh, I didn''t realize there would be such a descrepancy between the tax relief I was giving to the rich and the poor. Oh, I forgot to check with the people to see if they want to continue my war for oil! Oh, I forgot to check my bank balance to see how much funds King Abdullah and my step-brother Osama we putting in and taking out!

That kinda really really busy people don''t need to be in the White House!

[prinzowhales]

At least he didn''t rendition them to Boston on top of his station wagon as he did his Lab...

[iceman_1960]

"Badges? We ain"t got no badges. We don"t need no badges. I don"t have to show you any stinking badges."
Posted by Iceman_1960

"Okay Icey, what"s the name of the movie? It"s on the tip of my tongue."
- Posted by mudrose at 11:09 AM : Dec 05, 2007

hober_mallow beat me to the answer. "Gold Hat" (the Bandit leader) says it to Humphrey Bogart in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

[rudy654-2009]

If everyone in America fired every illegal immigrant who is taking care of their lawn, then lawns would be huge patches of overgrown weeds in a matter of weeks.
Posted by SgtRDS at 02:55 PM

I really, really, really wish that these illegals would just stop working completely for a month. And then I want to see the hate mongers on here. As it is, Romney is only doing what all of the rest here do when they buy the cheap produce and shopt at places like Wal-Mart. If they don''t like the illegal immigration, they why do they continue to support it through their pocket books?

[realpatriot1]

toolmangler,

I agree that God''s time doesn''t mean our time. When Moses said in Genesis that God created the heaven and earth in 7 days and then divided those days into stages of the creation process he didn''t stipulate the time of each day or even express that they were uniform in time. That''s a literal interpretation of ancient scripture.

Why do creationists assume that evolution is incompatible with creation? Nothing in the theory of evolution says that anything was created from nothing.
Darwin''s theory is just that, a theory. Some of it has been proven to be true and some has not.

The ultimate origins of species has not been determined by science and is still a legitimate matter of faith. What has been scientifically proven is that species have evolved over time AFTER CREATION and that could very well be as God planned it.

On the subject of Romney, this is damage control not conviction on his part. Someone has to lose their job so he can appear to care about illegal immigration.

[sgtrds]

If everyone in America fired every illegal immigrant who is taking care of their lawn, then lawns would be huge patches of overgrown weeds in a matter of weeks.

[ixoye_02]

FLIP-FLOP, FLIP-FLOP....now it''s time for the republicons to show that they are just as successful and skilled as the democrats for providing candidates that FLIP-FLOP on the issues. And Romney isn''t the only republicon candidate who FLIP-FLOPS on the issues. Where''s the integrity and honesty in these candidates?

[mudrose-2009]

Is it ''''Treasure of the Sierra Madre'''' with Humphrey Bogart?
Posted by hober_mallow

Thanks schweet-heart! Here''s looking at ya kid!

[toolmangler-2009]

I have yet to find a true creation believer who actually understands evolution - but the are really sure it didn''''t happen.

Posted by jncc1701 at 10:55 AM : Dec 05, 2007



You have one now, I believe in the creation of the universe by GOD/JESUS. I also believe that he didn''t ''rush'' anything. This makes sense. ''Evolving'' something from nothing does not make sense.
''Creating'' the entire universe in ''6'' days (one week) does not make sense, Taking your time to "make it perfect" does make sense. Our time and GODs time are two different things. What else do you want to know? Maybe I can help.

[fizzal-2009]

Just send a bill to where ever they came from for their benifits. I can remember a woman thrown off the job for not having her papers and driveing 45 minutes just to bring us a cup of coffee. When every one had to go too a machine to get a cup of coffee, I don,t know how the coffee machine, the money machine, the candy machine, the sandwich machine, the pastry machine, the soup machine all burnt up. When the machines were open they were found too be foreign. Maybee they should check to see if the vending machines in congress are foreign.

[rudy654-2009]

The next President will be Mitt Romney. Posted by robertkjjj at 11:38 AM

Without the Christian right Mitt Romney will not make it. The Christian right considers Mitt Romney a member of a cult, and they won''t overlook that like they will abortion with Giuliani. Wait and see.

[Krazcarl]

dirty fingers all the way around

[robertkjjj]

Let there be no mistake: this is a weak group of Democrats, and they are fighting among themselves so much that they will become even weaker. I have correctly predicted the nominees and the winners of the last 10 Presidential elections, and although predicting for 2008 is tough, I''m going to now predict the race for next year. For Republicans, I see Mitt Romney getting the nomination. He''s the best speaker, best debater, and most intelligent of the bunch. Rudy will burn out. Rudy has too many skeletons and a temper. Huckabee has too little name recognition and his last name is killing him; sounds too much like a hillbilly. Thompson is lazy and too slow. Ron Paul: you got to be kidding. For the Democrats, it''s more a process of elimination: Obama? Sorry, but there is simply no way mostly-conservative America will nominate a black man named Barack Obama; not seeing this happen at all. Edwards? Too wimpy and whiny; he looks and talks weak. All the others are not well known and have incredibly small numbers. Clinton looks like the one who will stay on top. For the 11/08 general election, it will be Romney vs. Clinton. Look for a brutal summer and fall next year of Hillary vs. Mitt. Because Hillary is a polarizing figure, and there are over 20 million Americans who have said they will not vote for her no matter what, I see Romney winning a very close one in the general election, with about 5-to-10 more electoral votes than Hillary. The next President will be Mitt Romney.

[hober_mallow]

"Badges? We ain"t got no badges. We don"t need no badges. I don"t have to show you any stinking badges."
Posted by Iceman_1960

Okay Icey, what''''s the name of the movie? It''''s on the tip of my tongue."

Is it ''Treasure of the Sierra Madre'' with Humphrey Bogart?

[mudrose-2009]

Badges? We ain"t got no badges. We don"t need no badges. I don"t have to show you any stinking badges."
Posted by Iceman_1960

Okay Icey, what''s the name of the movie? It''s on the tip of my tongue.

[nottellin1]

Wake Up America! Repugnant-icans are chronic Liars!

They can only tell the Truth after being caught.


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Posted by watcher269 at 08:54 AM : Dec 05, 2007

This cracks me up when someone writes that Reps are liars, or Dems are liars when in actuality it is mostly just the politicians, of both parties, that are liars. Wake Up!!!!

[jncc1701]

I wolder if any of my fellow bloggers who believe in Creation ever read Origin of Species.

I have yet to find a true creation believer who actually understands evolution - but the are really sure it didn''t happen.

[incog-nito]

Romney did not FIRE anyone. The article makes it sound like he made a bold executive decision, while in fact he just stopped using the landscaping company''s services. The illegals workers are most likely still working there. And without the uproar, Romney probably couldn''t care less about it, as long as his yard is well-manicured.

[Frisky1989]

Who cares!!!