But before we go to the new video, lets hit the way-back machine.
For the transcript of the original video go here. Here is the transcript of just the religion part. If you count all the words you will see that there are 1,693 words that George Stephanopoulos devotes to investigating Mitt Romney's religion.
George: "How does your faith inform your politics?"
Mitt: "...I think religion is a separate sphere in terms of a particular brand of faith...But the particular doctrines of a church I don't think are a major part in a political sense."
But George disagrees. He knows that Mitt Romney is a republican, and many people don't like Mormons. So according to George Stephanopoulos (Bill Clinton's Press Secretary) it is an issue. He ignores Mitt's assertion that "particular doctrines of a church [are not a] major part in a political sense" and asks:
George: But your Mormon faith has been a big part of your life. You were a bishop in the church. You were president of the Boston Area Parishes.You spent more than two years in France as a missionary and described it as a watershed experience. How so?
If you read the interview you will see that George starts asking Ann Romney about her faith. Why is any of this on a political talk show? Who does George think he is, Opera?
Ann Romney says: I don't like all the emphasis that's being put on it, because I see it as being a little unfair.
He is a man of faith and he has amazing principles. He's a good father and husband. I'd like them to look at the measure of the man and stop focusing so much just on his faith.
George thinks this is stupid, and dismisses it without even hesitating. Ann brought up a good point. IT IS NOT FAIR, but George says:
George Stephanopoulos: "But this is part of what makes us human beings..."George Stephanopoulos: But this is part of what makes us human beings and, you know, John Kennedy, when he gave that speech, he said that he believed in the absolute separation of church and state.
And he went on to say this, he said, "Where no Catholic prelate would tell the president, should he be Catholic, how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote, where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference."
Is that what you believe?
Mitt Romney: Well, we have a separation of church and state in this country, and we should and it's served us well.
I don't believe, for instance, we should take "Under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't think we should "In God we trust" off of our coins.
There's a point at which we take something which is a good principle to an extreme.
But I do recognize and support the idea that when you take the oath of office, you basically support something which Abraham Lincoln called America's political religion.
And if I'm lucky enough to be elected president of this country and I take that oath of office, there will be no higher promise than to abide by the Constitution and the rule of law.
That's Abraham Lincoln's political religion.
George Stephanopoulos: How about funding faith-based institutions?
Mitt Romney: Well, we don't fund faith-based institutions, other than when they're performing a non-faith role.
So right now we have faith-based initiatives in our state. Ann happens to lead that effort. And some of the faith-based institutions, particularly in the inner city, are doing a lot better job helping the poor, helping kids, helping families get on their feet than some government social service agencies.
So helping them in their secular role is, of course, fine.
Helping them in a religious role...
George Stephanopoulos: How do you draw the line in that?
Mitt Romney: ... that would be unacceptable.
George Stephanopoulos: You've worked with it. How do you draw the line?
Ann Romney: Well, we draw the line on those that are just trying to make a difference in a child's life. I work with inner city at-risk youth and we find that a lot of the black churches in the inner city have been very, very helpful in being there on the ground, helping these kids, really making a difference in their lives.
It's not even a church issue at all when it comes down to what they're really doing. They're on the ground, really there, and I'm very supportive of that, of trying to find anyone that's helping, give them a hand, as well.
And it's not a proselytizing thing that's happening, the way I see it, with the inner city, the faith-based initiatives that I've been working with. They're there to help. They're there to make a difference in children's lives.
And I feel as though we need to give them a hand, as well.
George Stephanopoulos: You've met with a lot of Evangelical Christians who are especially skeptical of the Mormon faith.
What do you say to them?
Mitt Romney: Well, you know, it's really quite easy, because they agree. Our theologies are different, the doctrines are different between the different faiths.
My faith has a different doctrine than do many of the Evangelical Christian faiths or the Catholic faith and so forth.
But we don't debate doctrines. We talk about values and where should America go on the values that Americans care about.
And on those issues, my faith is like theirs and like almost every other faith I've encountered in the world.
It believes in the nature of the human family. It believes that we should serve one another. It believes that we should reach out and make a difference to preserve institutions of stability and democracy, that we should have freedom of religion.
These kinds of basic values my faith shares with theirs. So the leaders of the Evangelical movement I have spoken with have, by and large, said, "Look, we're not worried about your religion. We're happy with your values. And if we can be on the same page on issues that we care about, then we can be supportive down the road."
George Stephanopoulos: I just have one more question about this and it has to do with the Muslim world.
In your faith, if I understand it correctly, it teaches that Jesus will return probably to the United States and reign on earth for 1,000 years.
And I wonder how that would be viewed in the Muslim world. Have you thought about how the Muslim world will react to that and whether it would make it more difficult, if you were president, to build alliances with the Muslim world?
Mitt Romney: Well, I'm not a spokesman for my church. I'm not running for pastor in chief. I'm running for commander in chief.
So the best place to go for my church's doctrines would be my church.
George Stephanopoulos: But I'm talking about how they will take it, how they will perceive it?
Once again George totally ignores what Mitt says. All Christians believe Christ will come back to earth for "1000 years". Muslims disagree. They are waiting for the return of the 12th Imam. Mormons, unlike most Christians, don't think all non-Christians will spend eternity in hell. But will George Stephanopoulos ever ask Fred Thompson what Muslims think of his Church's doctrine that they are all going to hell? I wouldn't hold my breath.
Mitt Romney: I understand, but that doesn't happen to be a doctrine of my church.
Our belief is just as it says in the Bible, that the messiah will come to Jerusalem, stand on the Mount of Olives and that the Mount of Olives will be the place for the great gathering and so forth.
It's the same as the other Christian tradition. But that being said, how do Muslims feel about Christian doctrines? They don't agree with them.
There are differences between doctrines of churches. But the values at the core of the Christian faith, the Jewish faith and many other religions are very, very similar and it's that common basis that we have to support and find ability to draw people to rather than to point out the differences between our faiths.
The differences are less pronounced than the common base that can lead to the peace and the acceptability and the brother and sisterhood of humankind.
George Stephanopoulos: But your church does teach that Jesus will reign on earth for the millennium, right?
EVERY CHRISTIAN CHURCH BELIEVES THIS, GEORGE!
Mitt Romney: Yes.
Anyways, go here for the complete video.
ABC's Jake Tapper: Romney "fuzzing" his Mormon religion
Jake Tapper: Romney is opening the door to some of this himself, George. When you interviewed him and you asked him about what is in the Book of Mormon, the idea that when the Messiah returns to earth he will set up in Jackson County Missouri.George Stephanopoulos: For a 1,000 years.
As if the 1,000 years is something that is unique to LDS faith
Jake Tapper: and rain over the US and rain over the world from Jackson County Missouri, you asked him about that and he said that's not what my doctrine says, it says just like every other religion, he'll appear in Old Jerusalem. That's not exactly what Mormon Doctrine says. And so he's fuzzing it a little bit, and he is then opening the door as a man of faith, as a man who campaigns as a man of faith, asking what is in his faith is not bigotry.
George Stephanopoulos: You think it is fair game?
Jake Tapper : To ask what's in his faith? Why not? He says he is a man of faith, why are we not allowed to ask...
It's pretty terrible, but this isn't even the worst part. I really hope someone out there TiVo'ed it and can put it up on YouTube.
Lets rewind the tape. George asked, "In your faith, if I understand it correctly, it teaches that Jesus will return probably to the United States and reign on earth for 1,000 years. And I wonder how that would be viewed in the Muslim world. Have you thought about how the Muslim world will react to that and whether it would make it more difficult, if you were president, to build alliances with the Muslim world?"
Then Mitt Romney said, "Well, I'm not a spokesman for my church. I'm not running for pastor in chief. I'm running for commander in chief. So the best place to go for my church's doctrines would be my church."
Then George ignored Romney's protest and asked something that was not a real question. From my point of view George Stephanopoulos knew that their was no difference between what Mormons believe and Christians believe, as it relates to Muslims. They both believe that Christ will return, and Muslims disagree.
The Bible talks about a New Jerusalem. A weird Mormon doctrine is that the New Jerusalem is going to be in America. George Stephanopoulos wants to ask Romney about weird Mormon doctrine, but has to pretend that it has valid political consequences, and so he has this twisted logic that goes back to how Muslims interpret it, and so he asks: "But I'm talking about how they will take it, how they will perceive it?"
Romney says: "I understand, but that doesn't happen to be a doctrine of my church."
But what is not a doctrine of Romney's Church? George implied that their is something particular about Mormon doctrine that would be offensive to Muslims. There is not. He continuous:
"Our belief is just as it says in the Bible, that the messiah will come to Jerusalem, stand on the Mount of Olives and that the Mount of Olives will be the place for the great gathering and so forth. It's the same as the other Christian tradition. But that being said, how do Muslims feel about Christian doctrines? They don't agree with them. There are differences between doctrines of churches. But the values at the core of the Christian faith, the Jewish faith and many other religions are very, very similar and it's that common basis that we have to support and find ability to draw people to rather than to point out the differences between our faiths. The differences are less pronounced than the common base that can lead to the peace and the acceptability and the brother and sisterhood of humankind."
So Romney answered the Muslim Mormon conflict question. There is no Mormon doctrine with regard to the 2nd coming, as George implies, that is more offensive to Muslims than other religions. Then Romney ignored the question that George was really asking, but has no political implications, and does not belong in politics, about Mormon's weird belief about the 2nd Jerusalem being in the United States.
George and Jake think any question about Mitt Romney's religion is valid.These are the only actions that Romney took with regard to religion while he was governor, and are the only valid religious topics, in my mind, that he has to answer for:
Governor Mitt Romney and Religion Press Releases
2006
- 03-10-2006, DEFENDING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, ROMNEY TO FILE BILL EXEMPTING RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS FROM GAY ADOPTION REQUIREMENT
2005
- 06-28-2005, ROMNEY VOICES SUPPORT FOR FAITH-BASED PROGRAMS
2004
- 08-10- 2004 , ROMNEY, MENINO CELEBRATE INTERFAITH APARTMENTS OPENING
In the 1st Debate Romney was asked "What do you say to bishops who deny Communion to elected officials who support abortion rights?" and "Do you accept Huckabee's statement that he wasn't talking about you?"
Brian Lamb asked, Who was Brigham Young? and Well, if you go back -- and I found the name Pratt in your background who was some circuitous route related to Joseph Smith who was one of the founders of Mormonism and Are you prepared to deal with attacks on your religion ? and Do you have an evangelical problem? Has there been a mood change in the country about the importance of talking about religion?
Wolf Blitzer asked How do you deal with the fact that you are a Mormon? Has Wolf asked Rudy, "How do you deal with the fact that you are a Catholic"? He also asked, Will evangelicals support a Mormon?
Robert B Bluey asked Are you prepared to deal with what is bound to be attacks from the media and opponents about your religious faith ?
Jay Leno asked Is their enough diversity within the Mormon Church?
And Chris Wallace of Fox News asked, Are you a cultist?
Do you agree with Jake Tapper that as a man of faith who campaigns as a man of faith, asking what is in his faith is not bigotry? Jake. How exactly, besides asking stupid questions from stupid people like you, does Romney "campaign as a man of faith". Romney doesn't bring it up, he just answers stupid questions, from stupid people like you.
Or am I wrong?
