Romney On Religion, The Competition

How Seriously Is Mitt Romney Taking The Huckabee Surge?

(CBS)  There's a sign of how seriously other Republican candidates are taking the surge by Mike Huckabee.

The man he knocked out of second place in the new CBS News / New York Times poll, Mitt Romney, will air an anti-Huckabee ad tomorrow, criticizing his record on illegal immigration: the first Republican on Republican attack ad.

CBS News anchor Katie Couric talked one-on-one with Romney about Huckabee - and also about his religion. Why didn't he explain the tenets of his Mormon faith in his speech last week?

“I can't imagine doing that in a speech as you're running for president because what it would do is say, ‘look, you're running for president, you really need to describe your religion in some depth,’ and that would really open the door to some kind of religious test where people would listen and say ‘do I believe that?’ ‘do I disagree with it?’ ‘does it conform with my own view?’” Romney told Couric.

“It would say we're going to evaluate candidates based on their explanation of their religion and that's precisely what the Constitution and the founders said we should not do. No religious test should ever be required for qualification for office in these United States,” Romney said.

Having said that, in the absence of a religious test, what's wrong with a little religious clarification?

“Well, and that's I think what I did,” Romney said. “I pointed out and provided the answers to the questions I think are appropriate. 'Will you be there to take direction from the leaders of your church?' And I said 'no.' 'Will you be there primarily or in any way to try and represent your church or put its interests ahead of the people?' And the answer is 'absolutely not.'”

In Iowa, Huckabee has TV ads that describe him in quite a prominent way as a Christian leader. Couric asked Romney: “Do you think he's trying to draw a distinction between the two of you?”

“People run their own campaigns as the want to. I do think it's important we don't reject someone for political office based on their faith. But also that we don’t select someone or elect someone merely because of their faith. And I think it's unusual to advertise your faith in your political campaign,” Romney said.

What does he think of the Huckabee surge in Iowa and nationwide?

“I've watched the surge with interest and there have been several before it. We began with the McCain surge. Then we took a closer look and people moved on. And the reason is once someone surges, then comes the close inspection of their record,” Romney said. “And I'm convinced as people take a good hard look at Mike Huckabee's record, they'll see this is a guy who is soft on criminals, soft on illegal aliens, but hard on taxpayers. And that's not what's going to lead the Republican party to take the White House.”

Couric asked: “Do you think Rudy Giuliani has the judgment and character to be president of the United States?”

“I think Rudy Giuliani is a fine person who is a wonderful mayor in many respect, but if I were a citizen, I would be far more inclined to vote for me than to vote for him,” Romney said, laughing.

[denn034]

Here''s what the Mormons say on Huckabee''s Jesus and Satan question in an upcoming article: "A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee''s question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.

"We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all," said the spokeswoman, Kim Farah. "That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for." Just passing this along.

[sgtrds]

Mike Huckabee is authentic, trustworthy, caring and humble. That''''s why his poll numbers are skyrocketing up at supersonic speeds. THE HUCKABOOM!!!!!!

Posted by GiantRobot2 at 07:01 PM : Dec 11, 2007

Only among backwoods bible beating hillbillies who sing in church Sunday morning after having spent Saturday night drinking moonshine and sneaking into their daughter''s room.

[denn034]

Let me also compliment Couric on her interview of Romney. Perhaps, Couric learned from the Gingrich sneer interview and, if so, then, I apologize for bringing Gingrich up.

[denn034]

It''s a contest so, this isn''t surprising.

[giantrobot2]

For those of you that like to critize and take easy cheap shots at other people instead of looking for positive things to bring the nation up, you should first take the log out of your eye before trying to take the stick out of others.

Americans want to experience positive change, they do not want to listen to mean spirited comments that only create division in America not unity. Those who critize are only running on ice, spining their wheels like a locomotive, but not going anywhere. It''s time to hang up those old shoes of critism, and change to the positive, optimistic shoes that will bring happiness to all Americans.

Mike Huckabee is authentic, trustworthy, caring and humble. That''s why his poll numbers are skyrocketing up at supersonic speeds. THE HUCKABOOM!!!!!!

NASA we have lift off, "One small step for Mike Huckabee and one giant leap for America."

[likeitis5050]

It makes little difference what religion or doctrine a candidate subscribes to unless they make it part of their platform, as Bush did. He made ''faith based politics'' a part of his administration and for the most part it has been abused. Romney is correct. Religion and politics were designed to operate separately. The media is trying to make it part of the campaign and people like Couric are determined to use it to influence voters. It''s none of their business, especially since he''s made it clear it''s not part of his platform. The values a candidate carries are apparent without saying one word about what doctrine of faith they belong to personally. Saying you are a Christian doesn''t make you one. Saying you are Catholic doesn''t make you one. Having your name in some church registry means nothing when it comes to standing on personal convictions and backing them with behavior that simply points to living what you believe.

Hillary comes from a very conservative family whose father was 180 degrees from her current political platform. We need to be asking what happened to make her veer so far left of his political beliefs, not how often she prays, like that means anything anyway. I find the notion of learning how she ended up believing our government should take from the middle and upper income families and give to everyone equally, regardless of their willingness to work for it, much more interesting than hearing her say she prays everyday.

[iamanamerica]

"Since the other candidates don''''t have anything to say on what they can do for America, they take the easy road and resort to taking cheap shots at Mike."

Nice props for Huckster, but pretty nieve. Here''s my "Cheap Shots":

Huckabee Pardons: 1033 (That might be a new world record!)

Huckabee''s financial answer for Arkansas: Raise Taxes!

Huckabee''s answer for illegal immigration: Give illegals scholarships!

Huckabee''s biggest lie so far: "I didn''t pressure the parole board - Everybody else is lying"

Hickabee''s Coverup: Destroying 200 hard drives that belonged to the public when he left office.

Hickabee''s ignorance: Lock up everybody with AIDS...and he wouldn''t even retract it until he saw the media pressure building and building.

But don''t worry, he''s a "Christian Leader" who will "take this country back for Christ". THAT''S HIS ENTIRE PLATFORM!

He''s not going to eliminate the IRS, he''ll propose his tax changes and they won''t pass.

His proposals for alternative fuels are neither unique to him or new.

"New programs that prevent diseases"? Is he a doctor or something I don''t know about?...or perhaps he''s going to wave his hands and cure America....these are meaningless talking points.

I''ve voted Republican all my life, but I''ll vote for Hillbillary before I vote for Huckabee.

[gkc99]

"Mike Huckabee facts:
1. He will Eliminate the IRS:
This means you will receive 100% of your paycheck.
2. He will drastically reduce Gas prices:
Switch to alternative fuels, changing supply/demand.
3. He will reduce global warming.
Switch to alternative fuels, no carbon dioxides.
4. He will reduce threat of terrorism.
New fuels cause middle east gov. crack down on them."



FACTS? ARE THEY NOW?

I couldn''t read all ten, I was laughing so loud by #4.

1. The federal government can''t operate without tax money. Is Huckleberry going to shut down the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines? Boolsheeyit!

2. Huckleberry is going to single-handedly discover fuels that will replace petroleum, that don''t generate carbon dioxide, yatta yatta yatta? Well as a "conservative" he must believe that is the function of the "free market", no? And has the "free market" produced any of these things yet at present gas prices? Not hardly. It''s still too cheap and easy to mine petroleum. And the methane reserves have hardly been touched yet.

Also, Huckleberry is anti-science, it''s clear. Anyone who wants to force teaching of the bible creation fantasy fits that bill. Maybe he can call down some angels to solve our problems. Let him do that BEFORE he becomes president.

[mcvet]

How many Presidential candidates are members of the cult of Freemasonry?

And why are there Masonic symbols on the dollar bill?


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Posted by juwboy at 05:14 AM : Dec 11, 2007
+ report abuse

Our Nations Leader is compared to Hitler all accross europe, after 6 years and a Trillion dollars, we do not have, we are bogged down in a civil War AND our real enemy has rebuilt, we''re in debt so bad our grandkids will never be able to pay it off, our kids are being posioned by toys, our economy is collapsing, the Dollar is worthless... I could go on all day but the question is what are YOU talking about? WHO in their right mind even conciders ANYONE in the Republican Party to run the local garbage dump, let alone this nation??? Sieg Heil Bush!!

[jbrewster7]

%u201CFear always springs from ignorance" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It seems as though the republican party has been overtaken by a bunch of ignorant hill billy evangelical bigots.

I think it would be great if they GOP rejects Romney as it would be seen as religious intolerance causing all those wealthy mormon republicans to switch their support to Obama.

[juwboy]

Never mind their religion.

How many Presidential candidates are members of the cult of Freemasonry?

And why are there Masonic symbols on the dollar bill?

[sgtrds]

Deciding who to vote for between Romney and Huckabee is like deciding which witch doctor you want to follow. There is no god and there never was, so it''s sort of like deciding do you want to follow the guy who preaches Hansel and Gretal or the one who preaches Little Red Riding Hood.

[sgtrds]

Posted by GiantRobot2 at 10:31 PM : Dec 10, 2007

11. He believes in creationism and is therefore as batty as they come.

[rowdytexan2]

...snort! He thinks Guiliana the crook is a fine person! There ya go!

[giantrobot2]

Mike Huckabee facts:

1. He will Eliminate the IRS:
This means you will receive 100% of your paycheck.

2. He will drastically reduce Gas prices:
Switch to alternative fuels, changing supply/demand.

3. He will reduce global warming.
Switch to alternative fuels, no carbon dioxides.

4. He will reduce threat of terrorism.
New fuels cause middle east gov. crack down on them.

5. He will reduce rising Health care costs.
New programs that prevent diseases, not just fix them.

6. He will lead up not just hard right or hard left.
Excellent communicator, will bring parties together.

7. He will lead with principles rather than money.
He cares everybody not just those on Wall Street.

8. He will give Hope to America and enthusiasm.
He plays bass guitar in a band, dynamic personality.

9. He will carry out his goals, not talk about them.
Lost 110 pounds, kept it off, ran 4 Marathons-26.2m

10. He knows the American people is the real boss.
As Governor, his picture frame only shows citizens.

Vote for Mike Huckabee, otherwise you will not be able to enjoy these benefits

Since the other candidates don''''t have anything to say on what they can do for America, they take the easy road and resort to taking cheap shots at Mike. Don%u2019t fall into their trap any longer with negative attacks, let''''s show the critics and the naysayers that Americans have pride and we are ready to elect an honest, humble, trustworthy man for US President.

[sgtrds]

"No religious test should ever be required for qualification for office in these United States,%u201D Romney said."

I think all presidential candidates should be required to swear devotion to the Flying Spaghetti Monster and submit to his noodly appendage!


http://www.venganza.org/

[sgtrds]

Mitt Romney.....Pander Bear.......

[mattcbsmatt]

Usual liberal, pro-illegal immigration, pro amnesty PROPAGANDA
Even though President Bush is a RELENTLESS Butt licker of Mexico. For some stinky reason : ) and
President Bush is one of the greatest Butt lickers of Mexico in history
I guess this a pro terrorist butt liking story. For some stinky reason : )
You will stop at nothing to promote your poo. BUTT still
illegal immigration is legal?
Mitt Romney
Well he is one presidential candidate that knows illegal immigration is illegal. Holy ***, the only presidential candidate that knows illegal immigration is illegal
I fear that other presidential candidate will po the same.
Why would a US President, Bush promote and advertise the illegal activity of illegal immigration from MEXICO?
I guess this presidential candidate will be attacked in many bowel movement ways, some will lick it up. I am not and I am not fooled