Mitt Romney’s campaign has just confirmed a report over at Mark Halperin’s Page blog that the former governor’s long awaited “Mormon speech” will arrive this Thursday in Texas, the state where JFK delivered his famous 1960 speech on Catholicism.
Here’s the statement from Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden:
“Governor Romney has made a decision to deliver a speech titled “Faith in America.”
“The governor has been invited to The George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas to deliver this address on Thursday, December 6.
“This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor’s own faith would inform his Presidency if he were elected.
“Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation.”
“Governor Romney personally made the decision to deliver this speech sometime last week.
“While identifying a venue for this address, the campaign consulted with President George H.W. Bush’s office last week about Governor Romney’s decision. President Bush was gracious enough to extend an invitation to deliver the speech at the presidential library.
God-o-Meter reported last Thursday that the Romney campaign had reached an internal decision to delay a so-called “Mormon speech” until early next year after the campaign’s anti-speech faction had won out, for the time being, over its more evangelical pro-speech faction. Two Romney advisors speaking on background confirmed the internal debate and decision last Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. God-o-Meter is checking with its Romney sources and will post back when it learns more about the decision to give a speech this week, though, from the statement, it was made by Romney himself. God-o-Meter has been reporting on the back-and-forth over this issue for more than a month.
Romney said lost month that, though he liked the idea of giving a speech about his religion, his aides warned against it. In an interview with CNN last Thursday morning, he said the speech wasn’t “something I have made a final decision for announcement yet.”
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