I'm firmly implanted in Huckabee's camp, but I will give credit to Romney for delivering a masterful speech.  He even seemed to get a little emotional and misty-eyed at the end.  Mitt, you're still an untrustworthy flip-flopper...but well done on the speech today!

Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusettes when they started the Big Dig. Remember, the huge tunnel under Boston that was crumbling down on drivers?  He signed off on the shoddy work and cheap inferior materials.  This is not who we need as president.

Has everyone forgotten Romney's disinclination to have a Muslim in his cabinet? His disingenuous reasoning was something to the effect that they are too small as a percentage of the population. In kind, he ought to similarly oppose the abundance of Jews in the Federal Government.

The problem with Mitt isn't that he's a MORMON

The problem with Mitt is that he's a MORON

From Salon.com:

'...Romney's gift to the opposition ad writers

"Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world."

That's GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, explaining this morning why he won't be distancing himself from his Mormon faith.

That would be the same Mitt Romney who once said "I believe abortion should be safe and legal." It's also the same Mitt Romney who once promised to be a better advocate for gay rights than Ted Kennedy was. And yes, it's the same Mitt Romney who jettisoned both of those beliefs somewhere along the road to the White House.

Salon's Walter Shapiro and Michael Scherer have more on Romney's speech in '08 Roadies.


food for thought

Ron Paul has a message about Romneys speach as well.Classy as usual...Here it is..

“We live in times of great uncertainty when men of faith must stand up for American values and traditions before they are washed away in a sea of fear and relativism. I have never been one who is particularly comfortable talking about my faith in the political arena, and I find the pandering that typically occurs in the election season to be distasteful.

“Our nation was founded to be a place where religion is freely practiced and differences are tolerated and respected. I come to my faith through Jesus Christ and have accepted him as my personal savior. At the same time, I have worked tirelessly to defend and restore individual rights and religious freedom for all Americans.

“The recent attacks and insinuations, both direct and subtle, that Gov. Romney may be less fit to serve as president of our United States because of his faith fly in the face of everything America stands for. Gov. Romney should be judged fairly, on his record and his character, not on the church he attends.”  - Ron Paul

Mr. Romney ran for office before, and did so campaigning in favor of the pro-choice position.  Now Mr. Romney is running for office again and is campaigning in favor of the pro-life position.  

Mr. Romney, it is YOU who -- on at least one of the above occasions -- jettisoned your beliefs.  Mr. Romney, it is YOU who -- on at least one of the above occasions -- constituted a believer of convenience (assuming you ever truly believed whatever position you were advocating).  

Your speech may fool some, but it will not persuade the many.  In regard to that, I say, "Thank God."  

I love how all these clips are from these uber-religious or hyperpartisan folks who have a vested interest in Mitt and the GOP in general.  

As someone who has morals and yet does not adhere to one faith, his speech was lacking and pretty uppity.

We may be a Christian Nation, but we're a DEMOCRACY not at a theocracy.  Christians are afraid of Mitt because they think they should live in a Christian Theocracy and don't want a Morman screwing it up.

"Flip Flop" is nothing but a catchy negative marketing phrase, not changing ones mind when faced with new evidence would be considered "Hard Headedness" When a leader sticks with something after he discovered flaws in it sounds allot like President Bush. Running a family, a company and a country needs someone who is brave enough to adjust his way of thinking to what is correct and for the good of people around you even if you know you will face criticism.
Choices cannot be taken personal; your choices will affect others. Even Einstein was known to change his mind when faced with new correct evidence. Mitt Romney is the type of brave leader seldom seen in today’s politics.

Bravo Mitt Romney... that certain took guts, knowledge, sensitivity, humility, courage and conviction.  

Romney has so many great qualities -- he can only get better


ROMNEY for PRESIDENT 2008!!!

It's quite evident that Mitt's eloquent speech was not written by him. Whoever wrote it did a marvelous job, though. Maybe his speech writer should be running for president? I'm looking for the real deal, and unfortunately I don't think he's it, otherwise he would have already spoke and recited quotes as eloquently in the past debates as he did this time. I'm tired of the status quo.  Who out of these candidates have ever shopped at Wal-Mart and had to actually budget to make ends meet? I want someone who truly does speak for the people.

Congrats to Mitt Romney on the most presidential speech of this decade! I was skeptical at first, but after hearing that speech I'm convinced he is our next President. If you check your facts, the previous negative comments against Mitt are unfounded and ignorant. He never signed a pro-abortion law that came across his desk in Massachusetts! Find me a politician (or person for that matter) that hasn't made a mistake or changed their mind. His speech today showed that he is sincere in his beliefs and a man of his word and this country. I'm voting for Mitt!!

The speech should not have been speech. It should have been an interview where people truly concerned about Romney letting his church influence his policies can ask him questions that deserve to be answered. Allowing him to speak for himself allows him to create a mood of warm and fuzzy, but it doesn't explain how Romney chose to support the Mormon church when it regarded African-Americans as inferior to whites until the late 70s (when Romney was a competent and politically active adult) and rejected equal standing between men and women (which it still does). Just for starters, if he wanted to quell unrest about his faith, he should've allowed people to ask these questions and accepted responsibility for choosing to follow a church that at the time was full of bigotry. Anyone can give a speech and sound sincere. Don't think for a second he would not flipflop as quick as his church would.

Oh brother Cathy.  If you had listened to him days PRIOR to his speech he said that he wrote a high percentage of it, and received many good words of advice, wisdom, etc. from several good sources -- of ALL faiths.

You are so biased it's laughable.

Basically, you applauded him and didn't even realize it.  

As a practicing Catholic, the persecution of Romney seems reminiscent of Kennedy...  and even though I think the Mormon faith falls short, I have A WHOLE BUNCH of RESPECT for Mitt and Co., and he appeared very presidential this morning. Mitt, pick a Jew for   your VP and you'll be fine.  Huckabee scares the crap out of me with his fundamentalist boy scout routine, what we need is care and compassion and more tolerance.  I like what Mitt said about Europe being the secular extreme (God help them) and Islamic terrorism the other extreme (God hates them).  Well spoken, very eloquent and Mitt is right, Americans don't want to see religion of convenience, as many candidates have adopted (Guliani, God help us).

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Hannakah everyone!!!

Joe, Pensacola -

Re-read the news and you'll find that he was not trying to give the speech but it became necessary as ANTI-MORMONS continued to attack him with religious bigotry, lies, and spin.  

I bet Kennedy was also feeling the necessity of giving a speech when he ran for office -- why else would he have done it?  

His religious affiliation has never meant a hill of beans to me anyway.  His positions that the President can inherently lock up anyone, at any time, for any reason, with no recourse, just because he says that person is a risk bothers me.  His position that the President can move money from one part of the budget to another to fund his own priorities is a problem for me.  His backing for the militant, neocon agenda and authoritarian program of the current administration scares me half to death.

Joe, I am a woman and a Mormon.  I'm also a feminist, and MBA, and an independant (politically). I have never felt subservient in my church.  Women are considered equal but different.  We hold different positions and have different responsibilities, but we are not less than the men in terms of our worth.  It is true that men are the "priesthood" of our church- but that is also true in many other churches, most notably the Catholic church (although our men are allowed and encouraged to marry and have families).

This was a speech because people demanded it.

I'm sure Romney had help writing this speech- especially in researching quotes by Sam Adams, etc.,(that's what a campaign team is for) but he said in numerous interviews before the speech that he was writing it, not a speech writer, despite some protests from his staff.  he gave it the way HE wanted to give it, and not how they thought it should be... many of them didn't want him to give it at all.  

I thought it was great. I'm still not convinced I will vote for him, but I was impressed by the address.

So, according to some voters -- you need to have a poor person, or someone who's shopped at Wal-Mart (like that's so great) so that we can have him as President.

What a ludicrous way of picking a president.  How about one who has a brain, ethics, knowledge, and is QUALIFIED?

I'm not black, so does that mean that I can't vote for Obama since he probably does not know how I feel as a white person?  So stupid.

I would not vote for Obama because I'm a conservative Republican and don't agree with his views and where he wants to take America.  I never thought of asking him if he's shopped at Wal-Mart .. .hmmm, maybe that would be a deal breaker!

Romney wasn't the Gov of Mass when the Big Dig was started. It was already nearly completed when he ran for office in 2002. He had to fix the problems with the project that were already there by a previous administration. People check your facts!

MITT ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT 2008 !!!!

Evangelicals for Mitt
http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/

I admit to being one of those with reservations about Romney, mostly due to Sunday School classes about Mormons and Scientologists and others. But I was very impressed. I intend to examine his website and check him out for myself.

Nitwits of America listen up.  What do you know about Mormons? Would you care to know more?  Maybe then you  will realize that your blatant reaction to Romney and and his Mormonism is nothing more than the rantings of a bunch of pontificating Baboons.  God bless America!

The question about his faith should be:  How can we trust a President to make the right decisions when that president has the utter conviction that his destiny is to be a god in the after life?  That like his Heavenly Father, he too, will inhabit his own planet?  Mormons believe that God was once a man, he lives on the planet Kolob with his thousands of spirit wives with whom he has sexual intercourse and the result of those unions are the souls who become Mormons here on earth.  How could we trust a person who believes that to make sound decisions regarding the governing of this nation?  This is not like the Kennedy speech.  

The fact is that "Mormons" belong to a church whose formal name is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."  Which, by the way indicates that they not only believe in Christ, but that He is the cornerstone of the religion.
It is with the grossest ignorance that people assume that Mormons are not Christians. When you print a story and quote someone's opinion, it may not be necessary, but it sure would be nice if you point out that the Baptist Church leader's opinion you quoted is absurdly contrary to FACT.
And -- why is it that no one ever worries that an atheist, an agnostic, or anybody else affiliated with any other religion worries whether they are "Christian" or not?  Why does it become a point for a Mormon - when reporting about Mitt Romney??? Talk about religious bias from MSNBC!! Please learn something about the LDS Church before you throw out these baseless biases against it.

Great Speech - very moving.

It is interesting to see how partisian and negative the first few comments are.... I believe these are the whack jobs and paid campaign staff.

I am glad the Christian conservatives found a candidate to rally around - now maybe they can get out of the way and get back in the big tent and throw their support to one of the other candidates with a chance to win.  

Romney is a great candidate - it was a great speech.  I think the other campaigns are drooling!  This anti mormon crowd is racist - and will push independents toward any democrat who is not HRC

Well, I guess the consensus is that it was a pretty good speech.  Clearly the best of either side in this election.  I think even his detractors would admit he is not the worst choice.

Love, respect and loyalty to the United States Constitution is an inherent belief that has been a belief that has stated repeatedly by LDS Church leaders.  As a “Mormon” I personally believe that the United States Constitution protects people of all faiths and those that have no faith at all.  We are a nation of laws and all of our citizens enjoy the right to pursuit of happiness as long as those pursuits do not infringe upon the freedoms and inherent rights of others.  I believe in granting the right of any person to believe in any religion he or she believes in and expect others to grant me the same right.  I know that Mitt Romney believes the same as I do.  As far as my support of some liberal “Mormons” serving in public office, I wouldn’t give their performance standing room in a barnyard.  A specific example would be Harry Reid.

Is there a politician or person out there that has not flip-flopped on his/her political viewpoints?  It's healthy to change your opinion based on experience and evidence.  Cementing oneself to certain politics is more dangerous.  I appreciate a person who is tractable, it shows a degree of humility that everyone needs.  Thank God that Mitt has changed his opinions, that quality is more representative of "the people" than anything else.  The important thing is, Mitt stays true to his moral convictions, and if certain viewpoints no longer fit within those moral convictions, bravo to the man who is willing to change.  

His speech today was exactly what it needed to be.  He defended his right to run for president in a  country that purposely delineated Church and State.  

I am happy to vote for a man who has a religion that plays a strong role in his life.  We would all do better to have moral guideposts like religion.  

Also, all you people who think you are qualified to judge the Mormon religion, your attempts are laughable.  I hope you never try to run for President, you're unqualified and ignorant opinions are terrifying.  

MITT 2008!

It's easy to say that his religion is inconsequential, but as a non-mormon that lives in the theocracy of Utah, I know that his religious ties will not be seperate from his presidency.  Mormon faith in their leaders as "prophets of god" inevitably will play a role.  I guarentee that if the Mormon leaders say jump that Romney will say "how high".  

I'm also concerned at the lack of recognition of the freedom to NOT worship in any way.  Bush himself said that atheists should not even be considered Americans, and if Romney buys into that dangerous view then we are on a slippery slope.  I'm sorry, but if I wanted to live under state-sponsered religion, I'd move to Iran!  I much prefer to be an American.

I find myself thinking he isn't as bad as I had thought.  Of course, this is after listening to GW speeches where he rarely successfully completes a sentence.

Right now I'm leaning towards Obama, but if Hillary gets it, I'll probably give serious consideration to Mitt if it's the two of them on the ballot.

Well, I will be even more thrilled to campaign against another pandering to christian religion-ists. Religion should never be part of government (look what a great job it does in other fundamentalist countries!).

Kel

I was totally impressed with the speech, and the Man. He is the only one who is presidential of all of the candidates on both sides. By the way Mitt was not the Governor of Mass when the big dig began, it was the liberal M Dukakis, get your facts straight.

I have to say that the people using the word flip-flopper must not know what it means.  He may have flopped but he has not flipped.  He has only changed his mind once and not twice like John Kerry did when people started calling him a Flip-Flopper.  So please if you are going to get mad at him for changing his mind call him a Flopper and not a Flip-Flopper

I have to say that the people using the word flip-flopper must not know what it means.  He may have flopped but he has not flipped.  He has only changed his mind once and not twice like John Kerry did when people started calling him a Flip-Flopper.  So please if you are going to get mad at him for changing his mind call him a Flopper and not a Flip-Flopper

You do realize, Joe, that the Deseret territory governed by Mormons gave women's suffrage decades before the federal government--and were forced to stop? Your argument that Mormons are against women is ridiculous and written in spite.
As for race, you talk as though you hate the way the LDS church CHANGED, rather than what it DID. Would you be more trusting of an LDS president if Mormons still didn't give black people the priesthood, instead of now having thousands of black converts and giving generous humanitarian aid to black countries in africa?

I've been reading a few of these posts and there are some things I just don't get:

-  If Romney, at any time, demonstrated any discrepancy with his religious beliefs then he is labeled as being disingenuous.  Yet, if his actions are in accordance with his faith, he is labeled a "fanatic."

-  If Romney describes exactly what Mormons believe then people accuse him of being overly zealous; however, if he gives a more general speech, then people complain that they "don't know" what he believes or that he is being "wishy-washy".

-  If Romney states his belief in Christ, then people discount him as "not really being a Christian" (nothing judgmental there), yet if he doesn't refer to Christ often enough, the religious right says "see… he isn't one of us."

Come on, folks.  Is there a way for the man to win?  Probably not.  That is the problem with prejudice.

Incidentally, the "flip flopper" accusation is very flimsy.  It is simply prejudice in disguise.  If Romney were of any other faith and had reversed his decision about abortion, would anyone on the right accuse him of flip-flopping?  No.  You would welcome him as a convert.  Finally, if Romney will be taking orders from Salt Lake simply because he is a Mormon, what about Senator Reid from NV- also a Mormon and one of the highest ranking democrats in Washington?  Regardless of how you feel about the Mormon faith.... these are some pretty weak arguments to not consider him.  

Joe, I'm a fellow Mormon and a happy, equal with my husband, WOMAN too.  I try hard not to be a bigot.   Joe I would submit that you are a bit ignorant of our faith by the way you speak. If you want someone to explain Mormon doctrine, you need to call the missionaries, we have at least 60,000 to choose from, but NOT Mitt Romney.  It's against constitutional law, as he stated, to have to explain one's church doctrine and beliefs if running for President. That's what churches have ecclesiastical leaders for. However, if you want someone for President who can speak from the heart (which Mitt was FINALLY allowed  to do today), and who can change their opinion with the times as more sound evidence of poor law (think nearly 1 billion unborn babies killed since Roe VS Wade and the push for ALL unborn babies , no matter how healthy, to be killed, no matter how far along in a pregnancy, if a mother chooses), then vote for Romney.  Until today I was very up in the air about who I would vote for.  I refused to vote for Mitt because he's a fellow Mormon...so is Senator Reid and I'm offended by most of his socialist, overly liberal stance which goes against much of my personal beliefs, so I would never vote for him if he ran for President.  That would be like voting for Hillary Clinton, because she's a woman too, just because she could wind up being the first woman President.  If you're a Democrat, chances are you would never vote for Romney for President anyway, so his speech won't sway you and it wasn't meant to.  It was aimed at mostly the Evangelical community and other religiously minded conservatives leery of our beliefs who are afraid the Mormon Prophet will run the country and Not the President if Mitt Romney is chosen.  That is a valid concern, and I feel he addressed it beautifully today.  I would say to Evangelicals out there who worry about the Mormon church running the Govt...What does Huckabee offer as a safe guard that the Evangelical and Baptist heirarchy won't run the Govt. if he wins?  Did the Pope run the Gov't when John F. Kennedy won?  Did the Baptists run the country when Carter and the Clintons won?  I think Mitt said it best when he said if he can't win because of his faith, than so be it.  Is that bigotry against his faith...yes and no.  It all comes down to who you feel is right for the job and if you are a person of faith, hopefully you are putting a lot of prayer into your decision.
From now on Mitt should write all his own speeches, with the help of course, of good advisors who undoubtedly helped with this speech today.  But it was from the heart (over a year in the making, thus accounting for the many awesome quotes from our countries founding fathers that he would have studied fervently), and because it was truly HIS heart it did sound different than anything he's said before or speeches given.  Because of that I have decided he is not as plastic as I once viewed him. I wasn't a big fan of his during the Olympics, because he seemed to plastic to me.  But his speech today "changed" my opinion of him.  He has my vote.  Huckabee is a bit self righteous for me, but I agree with him on many issues.  

I am a Mormon.  I am a Christian.  I am not voting for Mitt Romney.  A candidate's religion does not determine my vote; even if it is the same religion I've belonged since childhood, a religion I believe in enough to at the age of 21 leave my  home and family for 18 months as a missionary, and to which I have been devoutly faithful since that time.
AW, Phoenix, Arizona

Blah blah blah.....NO THANKS MITT!!

Sorry: I don't have the intention to offend any one however I am a Gnostic and we believe in logic and reality. Mr. Romney for some reason is wrong in some of his speech about faith. First of all faith does not have nothing to do with religion. Jesus did not save anyone, HE was teaching how, to those who listened the way to find salvation from been use by religion leaders and find the true road to happiness.
Mr. Romney speech was beautiful and well formatted but no matter what he said he was preaching to religion followers. Mr. Romney speech was a religious one. What he said is one thing but what he will do is an other and I don't want to find out when is too late

one of the inalienable rights of mankind is their ability to make a decision and, in the light of new evidence, reject that decision. People who criticize Romney for his "flip-flopping" and ask for one who doesn't are asking for a person who does not exist. We need a president who, when confronted with new evidence, will admit he is wrong. I'd be more afraid to vote for a candidate who said he'd never changed his opinion of anything. Remember Lincoln was himself not a believer in abolition til late in life, oh how we're a better nation for his "flip-flopping"!
The attacks on his Mormon faith and the 1970's blacks concern all come from the throng of people who prefer to remain in self-imposed ignorance brought on by decades of bigotry handed down by their own ancestors rather than actually study the background and history of the church. When one truly learns of Mormons they find a people who are as Christian as any sect in the U.S. and just as eager to follow the principles of Christianity laid down by Christ himself.

This was a moving speech.  You may not agree with what he said, but I don't think you can say that the speech did not reflect his deepest convictions.    

Reading these pages here and elsewhere certainly convinces me of one thing.  Mitt has succeeded in uniting both religious and anti-religious bigots.  No small accomplishment.  I haven't seen you on the same side of much of anything before.  But do you bigots like your new bedfellows?

One more thing.  "Flip flopping" is a pejorative term for "changing one's mind."  Anyone who has not changed his mind about something, who claims he got everything right the first time, is not someone I want to lead this country.  Such a person will be smug, arrogant and immune to persuasion and reason.  Mitt has always been one who has wanted to be challenged, to hear the other side of the story.  I for one am glad he has been willing to change his mind on some things.  

The problem with Romney and the rest of the GOP is they have the "values" question wrong for some of us Republicans.  I could careless what a persons faith is.  Thats there choice and a personal one at that.  Values should not be that of the bible.  My family believes values stand for better healthcare, strong economy, jobs, not abortion, gay marriage and the like.  Making those values the priority of Americans and the GOP is nuts.  Those values will not lower my healthcare costs, they will not create jobs and they certaintly do not affect my families well being.  Until the GOP returns to the "values" of lower taxes, smaller gov't rather than using bible verses as public policy they will not get me, my wife my family and a lot of other republicans to the polls.  Enogh is enough.  Leave faith at your door step.  Its a personal choice and does not belong in politics as evidenced by these past 7 years

Until Mitt and the rest of the GOP leaves religion at the door and concentrate on what is important to some of us repbulicans you wont get be to the polls.  Stop making faith and issue.  Most of all return the party to its former glory, not pandering to the religious fanatics

I'm LDS, and Mitt's speech, honestly... was nothing new.  We preach that kind of stuff all the time.

Why?  Because it's true.  And you can see in the reactions of Americans to this speech how open their minds really are to sound philosophy, or on the other hand, how tightly they cling to their bigotry after all these years.

Well, you know a speech is good if the speaker's opponents all basically agree with it.  If Romney isn't elected after this speech, then America can bring home the troops and keep them there, because we won't have enough moral character to deserve to be the leader of the world -- let China do it.

Why was a CANDIDATE introduced by an ex president and then allowed to give a speach on national tv on all the stations???? He is a candidate not the president. What just happened in America today?  Ann

I stopped watching half way through, I can't take being reached to by a politician.

Matthew 6:5-12
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

what is amazing is that romney gave this speech on Pearl Harbor day and no even recognizes that fact, so much for a day that will live in infamy.

no media type wants to bring this out. so much for the "liberal media"

romney sees his aspirations going down in flames thus the speech. blindly following a party just leaves you blind. start thinking for yourselves. he has flip-flopped on many of the most important and personal issues that face America today. remember folks he is gung ho for a war that has killed 4000 American boys and girls.he even wants to expand such policies.

his problem is he changes his mind every other campaign stop depending on who he is talking to.

debrar your bias also shines through so pot call kettle black.

oh yeah, republicans hate America and middle class children

Joe,

You say, "It should have been an interview where people truly concerned about Romney letting his church influence his policies can ask him questions that deserve to be answered." He has been doing that in town halls for the last year!! It is just that people are so ignorant and bigoted that they are not listening. If you knew anything about Mormon history, you would know that the reason they were kicked out of Missouri after being founded in 1830 was that they were AGAINST slavery! The people of Missouri saw that they were coming in great numbers and didn't want to loose their slaves when Mormons began to be elected. And you assertion that women are second class citizens in the Mormon religion are just dead wrong. If you wanted to learn about the United States, you wouldn't go ask Hugo Chavez. If you want to know about the Mormon church, quit relying on anti-mormon evangelical pastors (and if you believe that everything you read on the internet about Mormons is true, you are gullible indeed.

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