"Romney defends faith in speech he shouldn't have to give" — USA TODAY, editorial, (usatoday.com)

"It's hard not to be impressed with the speech former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney gave Thursday on faith and religion. He displayed a deep, intuitive understanding of the proper role of religion in public life, while dispelling the notion that his Mormon beliefs are somehow aberrant."

"Frankly, the speech we would like to hear from Romney is not about his religious convictions but his political ones. More than any other candidate, his positions — on issues ranging from abortion to gay rights to health insurance mandates — have shifted dramatically as he transitioned from an office holder in relatively liberal Massachusetts to a candidate courting conservative votes for the Republican presidential nomination."

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"Boldness, Watered Down" — E. J. Dionne, op-ed columnist, The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com)

"Romney's speech at the George H.W. Bush library in Texas was by turns brilliant and frustrating, inspiring yet also transparently political in its effort to find the precise balance that would satisfy Republican primary voters."

"... it was a neck-snapping moment when Romney declared: "What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. With those words, Romney legitimized the most fundamental test being imposed upon him in some evangelical Christian quarters. He was telling them he deserved an A on the religious exam they cared about most."

"And Romney's knock on the "religion of secularism" was pure pandering to the religious right."

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"Divinely Uninspired" — David Kusnet, The New Republic (www.tnr.com)

"... apart from his assertion that 'A person should not be ... rejected because of his faith,' Romney's speech reversed Kennedy's ringing affirmation of the American traditions of religious tolerance and the separation of church and state."