SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Not surprisingly, many people in Utah were planted in front of a TV somewhere to see how Mitt Romney would address his LDS faith.
Most people ABC 4 talked to felt he handled it well, even those of different faiths who have been critical of mormonism in the past.
The speech really wasn't about the LDS faith, but more about faith in general in this country. Romney put it best when he talked of remembering where we came from and embracing a "symphony of faiths."
There was not an empty seat Thursday morning at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. Students, faculty, and community leaders were hanging on Romney's every word.
“Our constitution...was made for a moral and religious people...freedom requires religion,” said Romney during his speech.
The speech was concise, yet hit on all the key points of contention, focusing less on the LDS faith and more on religion in general.
“I think he said something that America needs to hear about religious tolerance and understanding and how the country was founded and something that we ought not be afraid to talk about and that's our own individual faith, ” said Lt. Governor Gary Herbert.
In the speech, Romney said, “I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign duties of the law.”
“I think that all along he knew he was going to have to give a speech much like JFK's but the thing that I really respect is that it wasn't the same speech. He didn't emphasize that it was going to be a separate entity church and state but that he was going to at least acknowledge that religion is a factor within public life, much as it ought to be,” says Stanley Lloyd, a University of Utah student.
Pastor Dean Shriver of the Intermountain Baptist church listened this morning, and while his religious beliefs are quite different from Romney's, he says he found himself nodding in agreement throughout much of the speech.
“Religion has a place in society and never should a man's faith eliminate him from being president,” said Shriver. “I think this humanizes him if nothing else to the people and maybe make people think twice about how they judge people's religion,” said Kirk Jowers, of the Hinckley Institute of Politics.
“My feeling is he will probably end up being the next president,” said one observer.
In fact, everyone ABC 4 talked to, who saw the speech, commented on his delivery, saying Romney was very polished, very presidential.
And again, there is a lot of speculation on the timing of this speech with the Iowa Caucus less than a month away. He has slipped some there in the polls, but those close to the campaign say he has wanted to do this for sometime, and may have done it regardless.
