I found Governor Romney’s speech on religion to be little more than pandering to right-wing religious enthusiasts. It may help in the primary process with southern and midwestern evangelicals, but should he get the Republican nomination, it will not help him in the general election. He does not seem to embrace the fact that this nation has more than just religious voters.

The fact that Governor Romney is a Mormon has constituted no problem for me. Indeed, I am suspicious of those for whom it is a problem. That arises, I suspect, out of the fact that America’s “Religious Vote” (a category that does not include me, I hasten to add) seems to be eager to impose its view of both God and the universe on this nation in violation of our Constitution. I could support no candidate who would pack the Supreme Court with religious ideologues, seek to create a theocracy in America, or go to war after consulting with his heavenly father. Those have been the tragic mistakes of this administration.

Governor Romney was a more appealing candidate to me before he made the “Faith in America” speech. I was impressed with his demonstrated ability to run the Olympics and to be an effective governor of Massachusetts. When he reversed his position on abortion, gay rights and gun control, I became less enamored. Now that he panders to militant fundamentalism, I am no longer willing to consider his candidacy at all. I once regarded him as the most competent candidate on the Republican side. I think the choice now offered by the Republican Party is quite threadbare. If I were to vote in the Republican primary, I believe my present choice would be John McCain, but I would cast that vote with no enthusiasm.