Republican presidential candidates Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann both said on Sunday that they have no intention of inserting themselves into the discussion about Mitt Romney’s faith.
During separate interviews on CNN’s State of the Union, moderator Candy Crowley repeatedly pressed Cain, a former business executive, and Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, to say whether they think Mitt Romney — a Mormon — is a Christian.
“I’m not running for theologian in chief,” Cain said. “I’m a lifelong Christian and what that means is one of my guiding principle for the decisions I make is I start with do the right thing. I’m not getting into that controversy.”
Crowley told Cain his answer could lead to charges that he’s dodging the issue.
“If that what it looks like, I’m dodging it because it’s not going to help us boost this economy, and you know that’s my number one priority,” he said.
The discussion was sparked Friday when a Texas pastor at a Washington, D.C. political event called Mormonism a “cult” and said Romney is a “non-Christian.”
Like Cain, Bachmann refused to wade very far into the issue.
“The beauty of our America is we do have tolerance for each one’s faith … I think that again to make this a big issue is just ridiculous right now,” she said.