John F. Kennedy allayed fears about a Catholic becoming president with this famous address in 1960. Now, Mitt Romney has announced that he will make a similar speech about his Mormon faith.

Unfortunately, Mitt can’t use JFK’s script. Kennedy’s speech played to the traditional American value of religious tolerance — whereas Romney must win over a party with a vocal minority that prides itself on its religious intolerance. In fact, he has famously flip-flopped on issues like abortion rights and gay marriage to appeal to this minority.

So, what to say? Maybe he should take a cue from Jon Voight’s intolerant rants in the execrable, Mormon-bashing September Dawn. He just needs to skip the part about killing “Gentiles” and focus his wrath on those who “believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”

People like JFK. That will appeal to the minority he’s determined to court all too well.

Apparently it just wasn’t tough enough for the base — so he’s going with this instead.