And Romney's Reviews Dominate Day's Early News
Today's NYT: The Crisis of Faith
Still, there was no escaping the reality of the moment. Mr. Romney was not there to defend freedom of religion, or to champion the indisputable notion that belief in God and religious observance are longstanding parts of American life. He was trying to persuade Christian fundamentalists in the Republican Party, who do want to impose their faith on the Oval Office, that he is sufficiently Christian for them to support his bid for the Republican nomination. No matter how dignified he looked, and how many times he quoted the founding fathers, he could not disguise that sad fact.
Mr. Romney tried to cloak himself in the memory of John F. Kennedy, who had to defend his Catholicism in the 1960 campaign. But Mr. Kennedy had the moral courage to do so in front of an audience of Southern Baptist leaders and to declare: “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”
Wash Post's Dionne: Boldness, Watered Down
Romney's speech at the George H.W. Bush library in College Station, Tex., was by turns brilliant and frustrating, inspiring yet also transparently political in its effort to find the precise balance that would satisfy Republican primary voters.
Des Moines Register: Activists, pastors in Iowa question impact of Romney speech
Romney, a third-generation Mormon, did not talk about the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his speech. Instead, he promised to "serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."
That wasn't enough for the Rev. Frank Cook, pastor of Union Park Baptist Church in Des Moines, who remains unconvinced that Romney would make a good president.
"He was doing the Potomac two-step around the issues that concern many evangelicals," Cook said. "Most evangelicals, including myself and my church, agree with Governor Romney's stand on most moral issues in our country. Our objection with his candidacy is not so much with his public stance as it is with how the Mormon faith has tried to disguise the tenets of their faith."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Just as Romney said, to some it will never be enough until Romney denounces his faith or parts of it. Doing so would be asking Romney to deny his heritage and life-long beliefs for the sake of the Presidency. We're tired of falsities in our politicians. So why in the world would Evangelicals call for Romney to falsify his faith? Even if Romney rejected his Mormon faith, they would then point fingers as to how he has no faith based compass and doesn't know what to believe in (spiritually). They ask too much of him and he will never please the close-minded Evangelicals. I'm a Mormon and have voted for an Evangelical for President before. It's time they returned the favor.
Another item for the "You're no Jack Kennedy" file...