ROMNEY EXPLAINS REASONS FOR MORMON FAITH SPEECH
wbztv.com
December 3, 2007

Original Link

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Republican Mitt Romney, vying to become the first Mormon president, said Monday he decided to give a speech focused on his faith and the role of religion in politics because the subject is of interest in early voting Iowa -- where he has lost his lead in GOP presidential polls.

The former Massachusetts governor, running even in the leadoff caucus state with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a onetime Southern Baptist minister, said he also was concerned about preserving the impact of faith in America's political character.

He said his address Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, would not mirror that delivered by John F. Kennedy in nearby Houston in 1960 as Kennedy sought to become the first Catholic elected president.

"This is not a repeat or an update of the Kennedy speech," Romney said in responding to an audience question after delivering an economics presentation to the city Rotary club.

"I want to make sure that we maintain our religious heritage in this country, not a particular of faith, if you will, not of a particular sect or denomination, but rather the great moral heritage that we have that's so critical to the future of this country," Romney said. "So, I'll be talking about faith in America -- not my own faith in America -- and of course I'll answer the obligatory questions, as he did."

Later, speaking with reporters, Romney said he was not trying to combat religious bigotry, despite some recent leafleting and phone calls criticizing his faith.

"I believe that the great majority of Americans select their candidates based upon their character, their heart, their vision for America, and I think as people look at me, they will see a guy who loves his wife, who's raised kids, and they'll see my values in my family," he said.

Romney's staff announced the speech Sunday, after months of debate at his Boston headquarters over whether to make a public address about his religion. They said the decision was made by Romney last week, before the latest polls were released. Romney said he drafted the text last Thursday.

Nonetheless, the address comes as Romney's bid is threatened in Iowa by Huckabee, previously an underdog in the race. Huckabee has rallied Christian conservatives to erase Romney's monthslong lead and turn the race into a statistical dead heat.

In an earlier interview with WBZ Radio's Ed Walsh, Romney alluded to the tightening race: "You know, times have changed and particularly in a state like Iowa, there's been interest in religion generally, and I think religion does have a very important role in our society and therefore it's important to talk about our religious heritage."

From the start of Romney's bid, his Mormon faith has been an issue in the campaign as he has tried to position himself as the candidate of the GOP's family values voters. A Pew Research Center poll in September found a quarter of all Republicans -- including 36 percent of white evangelical Protestants -- said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon.

Indeed, skepticism about his religion has proven difficult for Romney to overcome, particularly in Iowa, where religious conservatives play a powerful role in GOP caucuses. Romney has invested heavily in the state, hoping to use a win here as a launching pad to the Republican nomination.

Polls show the race a toss-up. Just a month ago Romney held a wide lead and Huckabee trailed in the single digits.

Last week, Huckabee sought to exploit Romney's weaknesses -- his Mormon faith and his reversal on abortion as well as shifts on other issues -- by running a TV ad in Iowa that emphasizes his own religious beliefs. The ad doesn't mention Romney but clearly targets him.

"Faith doesn't just influence me. It really defines me. I don't have to wake up every day wondering what do I need to believe," Huckabee says in TV ad. "Let us never sacrifice our principles for anybody's politics. Not now, not ever."

But Huckabee, in an interview on ABC's "This Week," took a pass when asked if Mormonism contradicts the central teachings of Christianity.

Romney, for his part, sought Friday to strengthen his own support among religious and social conservatives, meeting with members of the grass-roots network the Iowa Christian Alliance in Dubuque, Iowa.

"I am pro-life. I am pro-family," Romney told them. "If I am the president of the United States -- and frankly even if I'm not -- I will work hard and tirelessly to preserve marriage as an institution, which is fundamental to the preservation of this great land."

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