CNN

I won't vote for Romney for two reasons: 1) he seems hollow; 2) he's a Mormon.

The hollow-ness comes from his constantly "evolving" positions. Too Clinton-esque for me. As for the Mormon stuff... I'm all for religion. If people use it to explain what we don't know and it gives them an ethical framework around which to build a happy life, great. But when people use it to ignore what we know, to create a fantasy world to justify insecurity and the repression of women, then I have a problem with it. People who wear special underwear and believe that American Indians are descended from Jews are not in a religion, they're in a cult. All the good things Mormons do doesn't change that. Accusing detractors of being close-minded doesn't change that, either. And any comparison with Kennedy's situation is wishful thinking.

Sorry, Mitt, but any association with LDS disqualifies you to lead this country.

For those of you critical of LDS I ask you this: If you believe in this country then you believe we all have freedom of religion. If you believe we should treat others as we would want to be treated then you should be very careful about making assumptions LDS are not Christian. There may come a day when you will not have freedom to worship and be made to be of one faith or none. There may come a day when LDS are the majority and non LDS are the minority. Would you want LDS to say the 2% Baptist are not Christians because Bap’s don’t believe as LDS. Wait LDS would never display such bigotry so scratch last statement.

Leave the "I heard," or the "I was told," myths at the water cooler. What are the facts. Is there a conflict between Mormonism and the public trust? Can Americans trust Mormons in public office? There is a new book just released that addresses these issues with full documentation to back-up the author's position. "When Salt Lake City Calls" will answer your questions. Google the name of the book using quotation marks to enclose the book title and you'll get a blogsite with full information.

To all the self-righteous religious types out there who need a book to tell you what, how and when to believe:

I don't need to vote for anybody who puts religious, FAITH-BASED beliefs in some book before critical thinking and common sense.

Nor do I have to believe in YOUR God to be saved by MINE!

And I certainly don't want some one who is gong to force his religious B.S. onto others when he gets elected. Especially if it's idiotic, faith-based BS like refusing to legalized medical marijuana to someone who needs it to stay alive and well – as SEVERAL MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS HAVE STATED – because his RELIGION tells him not to.

All of you who say "Well, the BOOK said it so it MUST be true are brainwashed sheep. You probably voted for the guy who said "Jesus told him he could bomb Iraq" too right?

Tell ya what, my daughter has a "Winnie the Pooh" book that says HE existed ... along with His apostles Tigger, Rabbit, Roo, Kanga, Owl, Pigglet and Eeyore. So I guess it MUST be true too – because, well, the book SAYS so!

"Romney’s advisers have told the Republican presidential candidate not to give a Kennedy-esque speech regarding being a Mormon, according to the Associated Press."

I had assumed that the man could think for himself. If his advisors told him to jump off a cliff...

JB Boston MA and Tom Dedham, Mass:

Count me in please. I hear your pain and suffering – I am with you. Sick and tired of this one party rule.

Religion...it's what tears this world apart.

I am sick of it.

It's not enough to simply believe in Jesus. The New Testament is quite clear in what is expected for a person to receive our Lord's gift of salvation. If you wish to receive this gift you have to play by His rules. It's a tough road to follow.

In a world where anything goes, it is not popular to point out when someone strays from the New Testament scripture. We are admonished to do this in a spirit of Christian love and humility.

I've known a few self-styled Druids who were quite wonderful people. That same thing goes for Mormons. That doesn't mean I accept their religion on an equal footing. Ultimately, it's their choice.

None of that is really the point of this discussion. The fact of the matter is that some people expect Evangelicals to put aside their church values and adopt the "values" of a political party. No thank you.

Actually Randy in OK, I used the qualifier "for the religious out there".

I'm against all organized religions myself. Over the years they've become more of a tool to control the masses than anything.

The question about Romney shouldn't be about his faith, heaven knows that all religions have their positives and their negatives. The focus with Romney should be on his vacillating stance of several key issues. We must all remember that Bush offered himself as a born again Christian but was really Satan wearing a religious cloak.

Posted By JB Boston MA : November 15, 2007 8:42 am

JB my friend, you speak the truth.

Deval Patrick (a Clinton crony) is as liberal as they come and even he can't get bleep done in this hack driven state.

One party rule is killing this state, but worse than that is how entrenched they are and these fools blindly vote for someone if they have a (D) next to their name or if their name is familiar.

We need new blood in this state and two party representation and that is where folks like us come in.

Someday JB, someday.

No, mormons are not sheep. Such a dim witted comment. There is no stand by the church on political matters. i have my own mind and it tells me Dr. Paul over Mitt since Dr. Paul is a better constitutionalist and not in the CFR.

When I "hire" a president, it will certainly be Romney.

Whatever your faith, if it and your beliefs will become a deciding factor in the decisions you will be making affecting the country, and they publicly announce that this will be the case, then you bet people have every right to question these beliefs. Romney is a good family man, educated, very intelligent and rational, as all people, until it comes to his faith. He can still tie all of this in with a belief in magic underwear, his wife having spirit babies for all eternity on their own planet after they die, etc etc. And this is what scares me. Not to let others off the hook, but do you really want anyone for president who seriously believes in talking donkeys and burning bushes, that the earth is only 6000 years old because all scientists are wrong, and that during judgement day stars light-years away are actually going to fall to earth?

It seems to me that if one believes in Jesus as his/her Savior that makes them Christian. Do LDSers have a different set of beliefs as other Christian churches? Yes. As do Episcopalians, Assembly of Goders, Lutherans, Southern Babtists, Christian Scientists, etc.
I find it tremendously amusing that so many of you "good, righteous" Christians are so intolerant and judgmental.

Jim in Cleveland: Very un-Christian like, intolerant attitude on your part. And just what do you have against Druids?

Steve in Chelsea: Explain to my what age of religion has to do with anything. I would think it is all about interpretation and belief. By your logic, Judaism must be the one, true religion.
And it may not take 100 years before a Scientologist runs for office.

So much hypocrisy among so many Sunday-morning Christians. No wonder I have little use for any religion, they're (collectively) responsible for most of whats wrong in the world today.

For the religious out there, how can you compare being a Mormon and being a Catholic? I'd think that the difference between a nearly 2000 year old religion and a 150 year old religion would mean something. Are we going to have a Scientologist running in 100 years?

Mormons are a minority, no doubt, but get your facts straight!

Actually, over 2% of America is mormon. It is also the 5th largest church. Outside of the U.S. there even more mormons than within.

The Republicans made this an issue when they kept demanding that Evangelical Christians vote according to their "values". Of course, values was just a code word for supporting whatever Republican the party establishment brought forward.

Now we are being told to accept a Mormon, to make no mention of their practices, and that we are bigots if we don't accept them as fellow Christians. We're not talking about some difference in doctrine among the Christian denominations here. We're talking about a religion that is completely separate from Christianity in it's practices and beliefs. It is no different than them asking us to vote for a Druid or a Scientologist.

I'll vote my values on this one. You can bank on that.

Hey Kim from Peabody-

You cannot blame a Governor for what is going on in this ridiculous State. The State Congress is 92% Democrat. I am not saying that Democrats are to blame, but when there are no checks and balances things come falling down.

Let me remind you, Romney refused to give illegals In State Tuition. He fought hard to stop the Courts from passing legislation (the Gay marriage thing), and when he took over the big dig (as short lived as it was), things got better. Of course there are more things, but, I think he did a good job, as do the free thinking Independents of MA. Of course the dems can't blame their Congress so they blame the only R.

Kim- have you ever lived outside of MA? If not you should try it. Then you will see how other states run, and what a joke this one is. And, you may ask, why am I here? My family is, I don't have a choice, but may move over the border into NH. No State taxes or sales tax sounds nice. And the State is run much better. No threats of increasing taxes if you don't vote for 3 casinos.

Maybe if people stop checking off all the D's on their ballot and actually make some effort to figure out where people stand on issues, we all will be better off!

Daniel from Utah: Marie acts just like a Mormon and other mormons and they don't believe they are the only ones going to heaven. You probably aren't from Utah either.

Dr. RaTsTaR of Lebanon Oregon is correct. I don't think that a person's religion would ordinarily matter, but it does matter when it influences a President's public policy. Mormonism isn't merely a religion, but a way of life. Would it influence Romney's decisions regarding issues that matter to many Americans? It already has.

Mitt Romney would never have received my vote to begin with, and the fact that he is a Mormon only strengthens my resolve.

Well, she's right. Instead of basing your opinion of someone on what you believe about their religion- although truth be told not that many non-Mormons are knowledgeable about the LDS church- why not look at their record in public office?

The clip is too short, CNN. Any idea why?

I'm a Republican who will not be voting for Mitt in the primaries. Why? Because Donnie and Marie is supporting him. And why do I dislike Donnie and Marie? Because they came out with crappy music back in the day. Van Halen was the band to listen to and still is today. OK CNN, I want to inject a little humor hear...alright???

WatchingHillary.com

I fully expect some comments from you bigoted sheep about her funny PJ's or her 15 husbands.

Please don't let me down, I depend on you for some left leaning laughter (I do relish all of your postings explaining Hillarity's latest screw-up).

It is time for our nation to move beyond this silly debate over religion. We should inquire as to who among the crowded field of candidates is best able to provide leadership in solving the domestic and international issues that our nation faces everyday as a candidate’s religious views are irrelevant to whether or not he or she would be a good President.

I love Marie, the only thing is she is not acting like other mormonns, a very good thing. Why in the heck are you a Mormon? It's so silly. This one group of people Mormons (less then 1% of America) are the only folks going to Heaven. They're a bunch of sheep!

Marie,

You are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT !!

Per your own words, "I hope we’ve grown up since then. I hope people look at the person and what they’ve done."

If the future is an example of past performance, then check out what Romney did in Massachusetts at:

http://massresistance.org/romney/

Check out the BIG BAD Christian Influence – http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=25844

Who cares what they think.

Don't mean to point out the obvious but if we had grown up, there would be no need for this article. Unfortunately, America is still a "toddler" and has a lot of growing up to do. An individual's choice of religion or even choice of no religion, should not be involved in the decision.

How do you think Mitt is going to do in Utah?

Look at what Romney's done. He went to France on Mormon missionary duty to avoid the draft during the Viet Nam War. He says his sons are performing duty to the country by serving on his campaign commmittee. Romney says Mormons take care of Mormons.

Honor the separation of church and state. Tax property equally. No more free rides for religion.

Dr. RaTsTar, Viet Nam Era Veteran, '72-'76, two deployments to SE Asia.