I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected
because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.
Here is the mega-million problem with the inclusion of this line within the text of the speech... Romney runs the risk of sounding nanny-ish in chiding the voter into what the "should" or "should not" do. Americans vote in this nation for many, many reasons.
Here Romney is attempting to goad evangelicals into feeling guilty for choosing Huckabee because they perhaps feel more comfortable with his decision making process knowing it utilizes a faith system that mirrors their own... There is nothing inherently negative in that rationale.
What Romney should have emphasized instead was that since the core values product of his belief system mirrors the same RESULTS as an evangelical then evangelicals having nothing to fear in choosing to support him.
I would have to also guess that this is one heck of a disengenious line that overreached on a significant level for the Governor (and keep in mind my admiration for Mitt). But would not it be enough to disqualify a person for the office of President - if per se their religion of choice was Wicken, or Satanism?
Would Americans be completely comfortable accepting a Wahabi Muslim as a candidate?
Using the perjorative of "should/should not" was unnecessary and WILL be one of the soundbytes that gets extensive discussion in the long tail of the blogosphere, broadcast, and print media...
I think this line hurt him a bit...