Obama’s Muslim problem = Romney’s Mormon problem

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST, AARON BLAKE, JULY 27, 2012:

"President Obama’s “religion” may be just as much of a liability as Mitt Romney’s (actual) Mormon religion.

According to a new poll from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, more people are concerned about Obama’s religion (19 percent) than about Romney’s (13 percent).

The reason? The unbelievable number of Americans, now numbering 17 percent, who for some reason think the president is a Muslim.

So while there has been a lot of consternation about whether Americans will be hesitant to vote for a Mormon like Romney, misinformation about Obama’s religion may matter just as much come November.

According to the poll, 65 percent of people who say Obama is a Muslim are uncomfortable with him because of it, compared to just 12 percent of those who correctly say he’s a Christian.

In Romney’s case, 19 percent of people who know he’s a Mormon say it makes them uncomfortable.

Make no mistake: Religion matters in American life and American politics. But at least for now, it's turning off mostly voters that were already predisposed against Romney and Obama.

More than one-third of Republicans say they have a problem with Obama’s religion, compared to just 7 percent of Democrats.

On the other side, 16 percent of Democrats have a problem with Romney’s Mormon religion, compared to just 10 percent of Republicans.

In other words, only about one out of 10 likely Romney and Obama supporters have some reservations about their candidate’s religion.

And on Romney’s side, reservations about Mormonism don’t seem to be moving numbers. Four percent of Republicans and Republican leaners who are uncomfortable with his religion say they are voting for Obama, but Romney also gets the votes of 4 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners who are uncomfortable with his religion.

Both are very normal crossover vote numbers and suggest the issue isn’t very important for even for the limited number who say they are uncomfortable with Mormonism.

The real potential problem, on both sides, come when you look at independents.

Among independents, 18 percent have a problem with Romney’s religion, while 16 percent have a problem with Obama’s.