Reaction to Romney

Now that the morning excitement is over, pundits have taken the time to mull over former governor Mitt Romney’s “Mormon speech.” You know our feelings on his performance, but how is the media beyond this little of the corner of the web rating Romney’s oration? We provide an abridged version after the jump.

Dan Kennedy thinks Romney did a pretty good job with the delivery, but isn’t sure if the speech will serve the purpose he hoped it would.

Romney said repeatedly that there should be no religious prerequisite for public office. . . . In fact, there is a perfectly legitimate religious test, and the voters will apply that test. I’ll summarize it as follows: Are a candidate’s religious views compatible with the office of president as defined by the Constitution?

CBS News calls the speech “likely the most important of Romney’s political career,” but is also unsure if it will help him.

In choosing not to delve into the specifics of his Mormon faith today, Romney leaves open the risk that rumors, innuendo and misconceptions about Mormonism will continue to swirl.

But by standing firmly by the tenants of his faith, Romney may succeed in assuaging some doubts that have been raised about whether he has any real convictions, especially in light of his position shift on abortion rights—one of the most important issues among evangelicals.

MSNBC has some quick quotes from various media types, including this criticism from the National Review Online.

It would have been nice if Romney, while making room for people of all faiths in this country, could have also made some room for people with none.

A blogger by the name of Huckabee Hound is biased, but may reflect the evangelical reaction to Romney’s speech.

There was a line in Mitt Romney’s “Mormonism speech” that really rubbed me wrong way. Here is the line:

“I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.”. . .

Let me tell you something Mitt, I choose to support Mike Huckabee because his faith influences his decision making. His faith informs his position on abortion, marriage, equality, compassion, and other areas of deep moral concern to people.

The real reaction will come when post-speech polls come out and reveal whether this actually works to boost Romney in the eyes of evangelicals. We feel the same way about the fallout as we did about the speech itself—we can’t wait to see what happens.