Romney on "Meet the Press."

Video here. Transcript here. Romney's performance, responding to tough (but nice) questioning by David Gregory, made me think Romney would appeal to moderate voters when he goes up against Obama in the debates. There are a lot of similarities between the 2 men, in that both seem rather low-key and temperate.

I wanted to highlight the discussion of Mormons:

GREGORY:  I want to ask you something a little bit more personal.  You-- you both are guarded about in your faith.  You talked more about it in the course of the convention.  We came across a-- a quote from a biography written about your father in 1968 and he said about being a Mormon, "I’m a member of a religion that is among the most persecuted minority groups in our history."  And here you are, the First Mormon to be the nominee of the Republican Party, you could be the first Mormon president.  I wonder how much pride that gives you, how much pride you think it gives others in the church?  Is it similar to what many Catholics felt with President Kennedy?

MR. ROMNEY:  Well, I can’t speak for all the members of the church, but I’m sure a number of members of my faith are proud of the fact that someone of my faith and our faith is able to run for president.  My own reaction is I’ve got so many challenges ahead of me I don’t think so much about the impact this has on-- on the church day to day but more about what kind of impact I want to have on-- on the electorate and what it takes to become elected president.  But I’m-- I’m convinced that-- that my background and my heritage and my faith has made me the person I am to a great degree.  The Judeo-Christian ethics that I was brought up with, the-- the-- the sense of obligation to one’s fellowman, an-- an absolute conviction that we are all sons and daughters of the same God and therefore in a-- a human family is one of the reasons I am doing what I’m doing.  It would have been very easy for me to just stay in business.  I like business.  That’s fun.  But when the Olympic request came along, Ann said you’ve got to do this, this is important.  And when I ran for governor, this is important, and now when I’m running for president.  I think that comes in part from this Judeo-Christian ethic of-- of service and commitment to one’s fellowman.

GREGORY:  Mrs. Romney, do you think that-- that Mormons in America and around the world, for that matter, have gotten past a level of persecution that they can very openly be-- be proud of what the two of you are doing?... This journey that you're on?

MS. ROMNEY:  …I -- I certainly hope so.  I mean it's always wonderful when milestones like that are accomplished.  And I think that was why we were all so pleased with so many Americans.  We’re so pleased with the -- the last election and seeing that a black man was elected as president of the United States.  It made us proud as Americans to know that those prejudices that we've had in the past are -- are falling away.

There will be a first, whichever way it goes, either the election of the first Mormon President or the first black President to be denied reelection reelected.  I loved Ann's all the prejudices are falling away as a complement to Mitt's we're all in this Judeo-Christian ethic together. And Gregory himself supplied a component of the discussion — through George Romney — that neither Mitt nor Ann needed to say — the victimology part: "I’m a member of a religion that is among the most persecuted minority groups in our history." (Note the moderation in George's statement, by the way. The "among" was unnecessary, but it avoids any fighting for the worst victim slot.)

ADDED: The strikeout in the last paragraph is a correction (for the obvious reason).