This morning, Mitt Romney attempted his version of then-candidate John F. Kennedy's famous speech to a group of Baptist ministers in Houston. As difficult as it is to imagine now, Southern Baptists did at one time believe in the separation of church and state (many good Baptists still do). So it was sensible in 1960 to deliver a reassuring speech to that crowd that included this:

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute- where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be a Catholic) how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote- where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference-and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

Needless to say, Governor Romney's speech was a bit different...quotes and thoughts below the fold.