O'Donnell, who is also a senior political analyst on MSNBC, criticized Mormons during a discussion of Romney's speech. He started off by calling it "the worst political speech of my lifetime" because Romney talked about the faith of his fathers.

"He believes, if he believes the faith of his fathers, that black people are black because in heaven they turned away from God, in this demented, Scientology-like notion of what was going on in heaven before the creation of the earth," O'Donnell said.

The former Democratic adviser said that in 1978, Mormonism "was an officially racist faith, and for political convenience in 1978 it switched," an apparent reference to the LDS revelation that allowed blacks to hold the priesthood.

O'Donnell, who pointed out he appears on "Big Love," the HBO series about polygamy in modern-day Utah, specifically criticized LDS founder Smith as "a racist who was pro-slavery," referring to him as "the inventor of this ridiculous religion."

Romney, O'Donnell said, "was given an opportunity to distance himself from the evils of his religion and he didn't." O'Donnell's credits also include producing NBC's "The West Wing," which featured a Democratic president.

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Contributing: Associated Press

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