"Missed Opportunity: What Mitt Romney didn't say was more interesting than what he did" — Kenneth Woodward, Religion Editor, Newsweek (newsweek.com)

"... there was absolutely nothing in his speech that told us what he would bring from his Mormon faith to benefit his responsibilities as president. None of the other candidates, Democrat or Republican, has been good at answering that question either. But why promise what you do not intend to deliver?"

"Romney hit evangelical pay dirt when he included 'the right to life itself' with abolition and civil rights in his short list of 'movement(s) of conscience.' And he hit it again by denouncing 'the religion of secularism.'"

"This was a speech to a Republican choir but one aimed at moving pew sitters far away in primary states. And until their votes are cast we won't know if any of them were listening."

· · · · ·

"Romney on bended knee" — The Boston Globe, editorial (boston.com)

"Mitt Romney gave a tactically astute speech yesterday about the importance of religion in American life, but he addressed it to a particular audience: those who believe in evangelical Christianity as deeply as he holds to the tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He left out a significant number of Americans, including those who accept no religion or are less than fervid in their faith. They believe just as strongly in freedom and tolerance as their fellow citizens who go to church every Sunday."

"Someone with ambitions to lead all the people in a pluralistic society should not identity so closely with any religion or religious figure, even one as revered as Jesus. When Kennedy addressed the Protestant ministers in Houston, he was careful not to engage in this kind of discussion. He drew attention to what he said were more important issues in 1960: "War and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barrier." The same holds true today, and the building of a just country and world, not religious fervor, should be the focus of the 2008 presidential campaign."

· · · · ·