Romney seeks to energize conservative GOP base in Iowa

Romney seeks to energize conservative GOP base in Iowa - Boston.com:
"Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney toured heavily Republican western Iowa on Saturday to fire up voters in what could be a critical battleground region in next month's election."

Mitt Romney's Plan Might Fit

Investor's Business Daily: Mitt Romney's Plan Might Fit:
"'It's an appeal to the center. It's 'I can do bipartisanship. I can reach cross the aisle,' ' said Michael Tanner, health policy expert at the free-market Cato Institute. 'He's trying to be the new McCain.'"

Ted: Gov’s faith ‘fair game’

BostonHerald.com - Local Politics: Ted: Gov’s faith ‘fair game’:
"“People want to know, where are your values, where they come from, what they’re rooted in. All those things are fair game,” Kennedy told the Herald yesterday.

Romney has not yet announced whether he is running for president, but has spent much of the past year hobnobbing with GOP bigwigs around the country and is widely considered an emerging 2008 contender. But some pundits question whether Romney’s Mormon heritage could be an obstacle, especially with influential evangelical Christians. "

Romney: LDS representatives meet with media outlets

Salt Lake Tribune - Romney: LDS representatives meet with media outlets:
"The meetings were organized by Edelman Public Relations, a prominent Washington firm that has been working with the church for several years. One of the individuals the church works with at the firm is Michael Deaver, a vice president in the company and former top aide to President Reagan. "

Mormon Church Courts Media to Counter Myths - Roll Call (Subscription)

Mormon Church Courts Media to Counter Myths:
"Just as Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) lays the groundwork to run for president, the church he belongs to is launching a quiet public relations campaign to assert its neutrality in elections."

Also see: The Raw Story

GOP "big dog" Romney lends hand to Beauprez

DenverPost.com - GOP "big dog" Romney lends hand to Beauprez:
"'This is a big player, big dog. And more than just a pretty face - like another one I guess was in town yesterday - he can actually point to a record of accomplishment,' said Beauprez, referring to Tuesday's visit of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who has said he also is considering running for president."

“Political Neutrality” The LDS-Romney Connection: It may all be innocent, but it sure looks bad

“Political Neutrality” The LDS-Romney Connection: It may all be innocent, but it sure looks bad | Salt Lake City | New West Network:
"What this means for Romney’s campaign, only time will tell. The conservative Christian vote is one that Romney will have to be concerned with if he truly intends to with the GOP nomination, and it’s no secret that plenty of conservative Christians see Mormonism as non-Christian. With his MVP program keeping him close to his Mormon support base, Romney will have to tread carefully to avoid alienating the voters of the numerous other denominations he will have to win over in his bid for the presidency."

The Mormonator

The Mormonator - News - The Phoenix:
"In fact, the parallel is closer to ethnic groups than to Christians of any stripe. For Romney not to court Mormons would be akin to an Italian candidate not courting fellow Italians."

Close watch of Romney is a given (Column)

deseretnews.com | Close watch of Romney is a given:
"The Romney non-campaign already has its own Deep Throat — namely the nameless source who delivered to the Boston Globe copies of e-mails written by Romney political consultant Don Stirling and sent to Deseret Book CEO Sheri Dew that reference the building of a network of influential LDS Church members-for-Romney with an alleged complicit nod from church leadership."

The Shifting 2008 Landscape

FOXNews.com - The Shifting 2008 Landscape - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum: "Romney has been the chief benefactor from Allen's demise, and with McCain and Giuliani on his left flank, Romney is well positioned to run as the conservative candidate. This is not an insignificant asset given that conservatives dominate the Republican nominating process. The unknown of how much his religion will be a factor and his lack of national security leadership experience will keep him from getting too far ahead of the field were he to have a nice run the next 12 months."

Hatch calls Romney stories a smear tactic

deseretnews.com | Hatch calls Romney stories a smear tactic:
"'This business of prejudice against Mormons is real,' Hatch told KSL-TV Monday. 'There is a matter of prejudice out there, and he's going to have to overcome it if he's going to run for president.'"

LDS officials distance church from Romney

deseretnews.com | LDS officials distance church from Romney:
"'I can state unequivocally that Elder Holland has never discussed with the (LDS) First Presidency the matters asserted in the Don Stirling e-mail,' Bills said."

Romney and religion

Romney and religion - The Boston Globe:
"Faced with that further account, the Romney campaign made Stirling its fall guy, claiming that the Romney aide had 'overstepped his bounds.'"

Romney backer says he's at fault for uproar

Romney backer says he's at fault for uproar - The Boston Globe: "Meanwhile, the Globe report continued to elicit a strong reaction among Latter-day Saints yesterday, with a leading Mormon politician, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, charging in an interview with Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL-TV that the story was 'pure bunk' conceived to hurt Romney politically, according to a transcript on the station's website."

Jeb Bush lends Romney a hand

Jeb Bush lends Romney a hand - Dateline Florida:
"'I'm a big Mitt Romney fan, as I am of Senator McCain, Bill Frist and a bunch of others,' Bush said before leading Romney to the Casey Key fundraiser. 'But I'm going to be neutral.'"

Romney's Mormon allies (Editorial)

Romney's Mormon allies - The Boston Globe:
"Non-Catholics were unduly fearful that the worldly Kennedy would take orders from the Vatican. But Romney appears all too willing to entangle religion and politics. Voters who practice a different faith, or none at all, deserve assurances that he can separate the demands of public life from the urgings of Salt Lake City."

Romney pal takes blame for dust-up

Salt Lake Tribune - Romney pal takes blame for dust-up:
" 'We know Mitt can't use the church,' he said. 'Nobody wants a Mormon presidential campaign. It would kill us with the evangelical groups. "

'How the efforts to help Governor Romney could move forward'

'How the efforts to help Governor Romney could move forward' - The Boston Globe:
"The following are the texts of two e-mails from a key consultant to Governor Mitt Romney that say that the leader of the Mormon Church was consulted on a plan to build Mormon support for Romney's potential presidential bid."

Consultant's e-mails show Mormon plan for Romney

Consultant's e-mails show Mormon plan for Romney - The Boston Globe:
"Despite repeated denials by the Mormon Church and Governor Mitt Romney's advisers, e-mails from a key Romney consultant state that the leader of the worldwide church was consulted on an effort to build Mormon support for the governor's potential presidential bid and that a key church leader has been involved in mapping out the plan. One e-mail also describes Romney's personal involvement in the planning."