Romney and the Mormon speech

During his presidential campaign, Mitt Romney has been repeatedly asked if and when he will give the speech addressing his Mormon faith, along the lines of the one John F. Kennedy gave in 1960 before becoming the nation's first Catholic president.

Kennedy emphasized the separation of church and state and said he would not answer to the pope.

Asked again about a similar speech, Romney gave a novel answer to the Concord Monitor editorial board on Monday: "John F. Kennedy gave the landmark speech on the topic. He said what needs to be said. I don't know that there's something different that needs to be said than what he said. I guess I could go back and reprint it!"

Meanwhile, the Southern Baptist Convention has issued a statement making clear that Richard Land, president of its Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, is not supporting Romney for the Republican nomination.

Romney, whose Mormon faith is a problem for some evangelical Christians, has at various times quoted Land as saying voters are choosing a commander in chief, not a pastor in chief.

"Defending Governor Romney's right to run is very different than endorsing Governor Romney, which I have not done," Land said in the statement.

"Those statements were made in response to questions about whether or not Governor Romney's faith was an absolute 'deal breaker' for evangelicals in selecting a presidential candidate, not an endorsement of Governor Romney."