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Romney to give his JFK speech

Let's hope Governor Romney speaks the plain truth instead of some naunced explanation meant to sound good to evangelicals. In the recent debate Governor Romney was asked, among others, if he believed every word of the Bible. I expected him to say, "I believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly;" Remember the Articles of Faith? Instead he gave some disjointed answer that only raised criticism and more skepticism. The truth is always the best policy. Let the consequences follow.

has anyone outthere every heard of abraham lincoln???he didn't belong to any particular religion just his own.all you have to do is to study his speaches to know that they(his speaches) were inspired by a greater being than him.in my opinion he was our best president.

I'm glad Mitt Romney is presenting himself in the context of his religion/beliefs. But if that is necessary for him to do so, why don't we expect the same from the other candidates as well? What exactly does Clinton believe, or Obama, or Guiliani, or any other candidate? How will those personal religious beliefs affect their views and abilities to lead the nation if elected?

All I can say is that it is about time! Romney appeared to be ashamed of his beliefs in the last presidential debates when posed with the Bible question. Governor Huckabee, on the other hand answered the same question with poise and conviction.

No matter what Mitt says, it will be attacked. All this does is add additional talking points to the other candidates. Let's hope he does an outstanding job and that the electorate may really see that his religion is a positive.

Mitt Romney is no John Kennedy. John Kennedy had class, stood for what he believed AND became president. Mitt Romney is ZERO for THREE in those categories.

I only hope Mitt's speech will be beneficial for putting the LDS people in a positive light. Mitt has done a great job of putting his foot in his mouth in the past (see Muslim cabinet member question for textbook example), so I'm only going to say that I'm a bit worried.

In regards to improving his candidacy, plain and simple, he's not going to be our next president. He's an outstanding businessman, but I don't believe in his diplomatic ability.

Whether the content of his message is effective or harmful to his campaign will be determined by his writing staff and Mitt's ability to expound the information. The good news will be not having to hear AGAIN that Romney needs to address this issue. Put it to bed and lets move on.

JFK was not a devout Catholic, so his speech reassured Americans that when his religion conflicted with his political positions, politics would win. Romney is a devout Mormon. What happens when pronouncements from church leadership conflicts with his policies? Americans want someone who won't change postions because he's "following the prophet."

I hope Mr. Romney addresses the contributions that Mormons have given to our country and to other parts of the world. The humanitarian program of the LDS Church is fantastic, contributing tremendous resources to hurricane and tsunami relief over the last few years, without prejudice to race or religion. I hope he addresses why we call ourselves Latter-day Saints; the emphasis our church places on patriotism; the deep love we have for the U.S. Constitution; what interests and values we share with most other Americans; and why he finds faith and hope in the Bible and Book of Mormon (without coming across as preaching). Such as, both books teach to love your neighbor, that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior, live a good life, repent of wrong doings, and provide example of how simple a society can lose track of it's values when it gives into materialism and selfishness. He should also list other Mormons (current and past) and the contributions to society.

Wake up and read the whole article. No one is comparing Mitt Romney with John Kennedy. No one is suggesting they have the same qualifications. The press is talking about the importance of religion in the two presidential campaigns. That is all.

JFK may have had wealth and charisma, but I cannot call a man addicted to painkillers and cheating on his wife as having "class." Like a more recent president named Clinton, had JFK spent more time on governmental affairs and less time on his personal "affairs", we might not have lost so many young men and women at war. Kennedy turned his back on the Communist aggression in Vietnam after its independence from France. Clinton ignored the terrorists, even when they bombed the World Trade Center the first time. The result? The U.S. involvement came too late to be effective against the enemy without significant expense and loss of life.

It's about time Romney gets around to this, but he's still not likely to win.

I'm not being cynical, just realistic.

Thank you.

"Mormon Mitt" could give the best speach in political history, but the actions of those who claim membership in the LDS church will keep popping up to tarnish the image. Every time someone in Utah takes it in their heads to ban a movie, or put up a barrier to hide liquor bottles, the national media gets ahold of it and by association, all Mormons are lumped in with the fanatics. This would include Mitt. Just like when a person of another faith does something radical, we tend to believe that all memebers of that particular faith must have the same beliefs. Good luck Mitt, with some of the locals working against you, you're going to need it.

I live out here in the "Bible Belt" and it doesn't make any difference what the so called "Christians" are told by Members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They will only listen to their Preachers and the preachers are at their pulpits every Sunday telling untruths about the LDS church. They don't tell of good things about their own church, they are telling lies about the LDS church. I have neighbors who believe all the untruths that are told them by their ministers. We can show them in the scriptures , the truth, but they will not listen. So I hope That Romney will be able to explain in a way that does not make it harder to the members of the church. Huckabee may be a Baptist minister but that doesn't make him capable of running our beloved country.

Note to Hay Blake - Although this article is about Romney, not Clinton, your hijacked comments cannot go unrewarded. You said "Clinton ignored the terrorists even when they bombed the World Trade Center the first time." If you want to find how wrong your statement is you could go visit those terrorists who are all in a federal maximum security prison serving more than 240 years with heavy fines imposed so they can never benefit from selling their story for books or movies. Contrast that with Osama bin Laden who is still resting comfortably in some cave now 6 years after he masterminded the second World Trade Center during the Bush Adminstration. President Clinton used the cooperation of foriegn countries and their intelligence services to track down and capture some of the terrorists during his watch. Contrast that effectiveness and associated death and destruction with the pre-emptive war we now belong to in Iraq.

Mitt Romney's success in giving his speech here in Texas on Thursday does NOT rely on his religious convictions or on his speech writers. His success relies on fair and accurate reporting by the press. To date, the press (apparently uninformed) has taken Mr. Romney's remarks and distorted their intended meaning or taken them out of context to sensationalize the Mormon issue and create headlines. (It seems the reporters google "Mormon" for their background information rather than consulting the church's official website.) A good example is the comment about a Muslim in the Cabinet. Mitt Romney never said he would not consider a Muslim for a Cabinet position. Mitt Romney opinioned he did not consider the Muslim population of the U.S. large enough to REQUIRE a Muslim in the Cabinet. Like those unbelievers who taunted and tried to trick Jesus Christ with their questions, reporters ask "loaded questions" of political candidates.

The other candidtes will not give speeches about their religious faith ... because they have none.

No matter what Romney says, the detractors as in this blog, will find plenty that they will be able to use to discredit him. There is nothing to gain. Those looking for ways to discredit Romney along with his religion will find it. Thoses who already understand the religion and the people will not be concerned if he doesn't make a statement. Those that don't know what is going on, won't know after his speech either.

By the way if people are critical of Romney and not Huckabee because of religion, it is probably because they don't understand the past relationship of the Southern Baptists and slavery.

As the original Christian church, the world knew all about about John F. Kennedy's Catholicism.

Mitt Romney will never have that distinction as Mormonism is so new and quite frankly, difficult to explain.

I can write Mitt's speech (not "speach") for him: "I'm a devout man of faith and I'm strongly guided by my religious principles. But don't worry, all you Republican evangelicals -- I guarantee that my principles will never guide me to do anything you won't like!"

Good luck threading that needle, governor.

The need for Romney to speak explicitly and at length about his religious beliefs has been made acute by the outrageous TV ad that Mike Huckabee put out, that made only one point: He is a "Christian" minister and that is his life.

If a candidate in Utah was bragging about being Mormon in order to get votes, not only would the non-Mormons feel excluded and criticize him, the Mormons would also object because they don't vote for people just because they are fellow church members. A Mormon can be in good standing as a member, but that doesn't mean that he has any business in government office.

Apparently, Evangelical Christians have forgotten that Jimmy Carter was pretty sincere about the strength of his religious beliefs, but that did not keep him from being one of the most incompetent presidents in the 20th Century.

Professional minister Reverend Huckabee wants Americans to vote for a "Pastor in Chief" instead of a Commander in Chief. His campaign has sought to divide Americans on religious lines, and he would poison the general election campaign and turn it into a religious war.