Romney defends his faith as 10 hopefuls vie at debate

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mitt Romney defended his LDS faith onstage during the Republican presidential debate Tuesday as all 10 candidates tried to distinguish themselves from each other to an audience full of undecided Republican and independent New Hampshire voters.

Topics ranged from evolution to immigration to the war in Iraq, but CNN's Wolf Blitzer specifically asked Romney about his religion.

"What would you like to say to the voters out there tonight about your faith, about yourself and about God?" Blitzer asked Romney, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Blitzer said 10 percent of New Hampshire voters polled said they would not vote for Romney because he is Mormon.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said former President John F. Kennedy said he was not a Catholic running for president but an American running for president — but he did think it was a fair question to ask.

"I think if you want to understand what I believe, you could recognize that the values that I have are the same values you'll find in faiths across this country," Romney said. "I believe in God, believe in the Bible, believe Jesus Christ is my savior. I believe that God created man in his image. I believe that the freedoms of man derive from inalienable rights that were given to us by God."

Romney said he believes some political pundits are "hoping" he will distance himself from the church to help him politically.

"That's not going to happen," Romney said, drawing some applause from the crowd.

After the speech, in a Saint Anselm College gym-turned-"Spin Room," Romney's son Tagg said questions about his father's faith came up when he ran for governor of a predominantly Catholic state.

"As time went on, people realized that he wasn't running as a Mormon for office," Tagg Romney said. "The issue of religion faded into the background."

Tagg Romney said he would not take a Kennedy-esque speech about religion completely off the table yet for his dad but does not foresee a need for it at this point.

He said voters need to get to know his dad, see what he did for the successful Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics, in business, and for Massachusetts.

Immigration was a predominant topic with Romney taking a small shot at Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, who has criticized Romney for "flip-flopping" on the issue.

McCain said in Florida on Monday that Romney was "pandering for votes on the issue but offering no real solution."

Romney reminded that audience that McCain "campaigned for me two times" and that he wasn't going to make this a matter of personal politics.