Demagogue

A number of bloggers have posted on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's confrontation on Friday with a heckler in Florida who criticized his religious views.

What bothered me most about the incident is that judging by some of the media reactions — and certainly by the crowd of seniors at the campaign event — Romney is viewed (unjustifiably) as if he were Mr. Tolerant. In case you missed it, here is what transpired:

[Romney] showed poise when a heckler attacked him for being a Mormon: "You, sir, you are a pretender. You do not know the Lord."

The audience booed the heckler.

''One of the great things about this land is that we have people of different faiths and different religions, but we need to have a person of faith lead the country,'' he said, as the audience gave him a standing ovation.

In reality, Romney is only slightly more tolerant than the man who heckled him. Romney is willing to be tolerant of people who have religions that are different from his, but you must have a religion.

In other words, contrary to the U.S. Constitution's language, Romney thinks there should be a religious test for public office — every candidate must subscribe to a religious faith.