( CNN ) -- The 2012 presidential race has been dominated by one issue : the economy . Americans are desperately looking for a leader who can steer the country into full recovery ; anything else is peripheral at this point . This past weekend , however , the presidential race was harmfully thrown off course . I 'm referring to the words of Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas , Texas . Jeffress introduced Texas Gov . Rick Perry at the Values Voters Summit in Washington D.C. on Friday and strongly endorsed him , primarily because of his evangelical Christian beliefs . Shortly after the introduction , Jeffress said to reporters : `` Every true , born-again follower of Christ ought to embrace a Christian over a non-Christian . '' Jeffress called Mormonism a `` cult , '' and asked by a reporter if he believed Gov . Mitt Romney is a Christian , answered , `` No . '' Romney , of course , is Mormon . Jeffress ' words echoed what he said in 2008 about Romney , when he told the Religion Newswriters Association at its annual meeting : `` The value of electing a Christian goes beyond public policies ... It is worse to legitimize a faith that would lead people to a separation from God . '' In essence , Jeffress implied that voting for Mitt Romney would give credibility to a cult . After hearing Jeffress ' remarks , I decided to respond when I spoke at the same summit on Saturday . The Romney campaign contacted me before my speech about another speaker , Bryan Fischer , who has a history of controversial remarks concerning Mormonism . But Romney 's campaign had no say in my words to Jeffress . I said to Jeffress , along with everyone else , `` Do not give voice to bigotry . Remember George Washington , his manly advice to us , to despise all forms of racial and religious bigotry . He who was first in war , first in peace , and first in the hearts of his countrymen , counseled , 'We should give to bigotry no sanction , to persecution no assistance . ' `` Let 's follow him . And I would say to Pastor Jeffress , you stepped on and obscured the words of Perry and Santorum and Cain and Bachmann and everyone else who has spoken here . You did Rick Perry no good , sir , in what you had to say . '' I agree that there are serious theological differences between evangelical Christianity and Mormonism . But those should be settled in churches , in homes , and in religious gatherings , not in front of a national political event . Pastor Jeffress says his words were merely theological . He , pastor of a successful mega-church , should know full well the fine line between religion and politics . His words were clearly political , as evidenced by the damaging effect it had on the Republican presidential candidates and the national debate . Gov . Perry immediately had to distance himself from Jeffress ' words . Gov . Romney quickly went on the defensive . And the other candidates , instantly grilled by the national media about their view of Mormonism , were thrown into a controversy they wanted no part of . Jeffress ' words were an inappropriate and deleterious distraction . Article Six of the Constitution states that `` no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States . '' The purpose of a political gathering like the Values Voters Summit is to build consensus around a candidate by examining positions and records . Yes , religion plays an essential role in those decisions , but one person 's faith should never be a disqualifying factor , whether that person is Jewish , Christian , Catholic , Muslim , Mormon , or of any other faith . To the right and left alike , we are in the middle of a grueling presidential campaign season . It behooves us to despise and reject all forms of religious , and racial , bigotry . Politics are about policy and deciding whether a candidate shares your views of the founding principles of this country -- life , liberty , and the rule of law -- which men and women of all different faiths can agree upon . When Abraham Lincoln spoke in 1838 to the Young Men 's Lyceum of Springfield , Illinois , concerning the `` perpetuation of our political institutions , '' he admonished participants : `` Let reverence for the laws ... become the political religion of the nation . '' We do not need , nor should we have , a religious test for public office . Should we choose to hold someone 's faith against him or her , we hurt only ourselves . Our chances of winning the 2012 presidential election depend on building the broadest coalition we can , not breaking it down . I do not question the theological knowledge of Pastor Jeffress , and , to his credit , he has said that he would vote for Romney should he win the nomination . Nevertheless , his comments were ill-timed and of poor taste . Again , the timeless wisdom of George Washington comes to mind . In a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport , Rhode Island , Washington wrote , `` May the Children of the Stock of Abraham , who dwell in this land , continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants , while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree , and there shall be none to make him afraid . '' The opinions in this commentary are solely those of William Bennett .
William Bennett : Jeffress ' comments about Romney 's faith in presidential race . Bennett , a Perry Democrat , said Romney is not a Christian and Mormonism is a cult . Bennett says we must reject religious , and racial , bigotry ; politics are about policy . There is no religious qualification for public office and it 's a matter of political principles , he said .