"Beyond first invoking and later contradicting Kennedy, Romney simply offered a series of paragraphs that, while well-phrased, led to no coherent conclusion."

"But, mostly, he offered a caricature of Clintonian triangulation. On the 'liberal' side, Romney endorsed the separation of church and state, supported the tolerance of those with different beliefs, and found something to admire in Catholicism ('the profound ceremony'), Lutheranism ('confident independence'), Judaism ('ancient traditions'), and Islam ('frequent prayer'). On the 'conservative' side, he proclaimed that 'secularism' is a religion, decried the un-churching of Western Europe, and declared that 'freedom requires religion.'"

"Why then did Romney deliver a speech that described some but not all of his most personal beliefs and defended the role of religion in public life without specifying where, how, or by whom it is being threatened? The answer, simply, is that Romney wants to stand on several sides of the church/state debates of the past half century."

(David Kusnet was chief speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton from 1992 through 1994.)

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"Mormon in America" — Peggy Noonan, contributing editor, The Wall Street Journal (www.opinionjournal.com)

"Mr. Romney gave the speech Thursday morning. How did he do? Very, very well. He made himself some history. The words he said will likely have a real and positive impact on his fortunes. The speech's main and immediate achievement is that foes of his faith will now have to defend their thinking, in public. But what can they say to counter his high-minded arguments? 'Mormons have cooties'?"

"There was one significant mistake in the speech. I do not know why Romney did not include nonbelievers in his moving portrait of the great American family. We were founded by believing Christians, but soon enough Jeremiah Johnson, and the old proud agnostic mountain men, and the village atheist, and the Brahmin doubter, were there, and they too are part of us, part of this wonderful thing we have. Why did Mr. Romney not do the obvious thing and include them? My guess: It would have been reported, and some idiots would have seen it and been offended that this Romney character likes to laud atheists. And he would have lost the idiot vote."

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