You wrote, “Mitt seems to stumble on whether he has belief in the Bible. There was a lot of stuttering, delay and faltering there. Very interesting. What happened!?”
This is what I think (emphasis: THINK) happened:
The Mormons believe that the Bible is true and accurate ...um...let’s see...I’m trying to remember how they phrase it... I think they say “...the Bible is accurate in so far as it is accurately translated...”
According to Mormon belief (I think-—and if I’m wrong, I’d be happy to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable of Mormon theology), the Bible has become corrupted over the centuries and is no longer entirely accurate. That’s why a new revelation of Jesus Christ was necessary (The Book of Mormon).
Whereas Rudy and Huck accepted the question as merely being “Are you a literalist Bible-thumper” type question, to Mitt ... well.... it possibly sent alarm bells ringing in his mind. Possibly, he was unsure whether or not to take this as a question targeted specifically at his Mormon theology.
He must remain faithful to Mormon theology,
... but.....
it would not go down well in the debate to out-and-out say the Bible is (somewhat?) corrupted and inaccurate.
Anyway, I THINK that this is why he was stuttering.
Regards,
Molly K.
What might be instructive is to see if there are any reputable "Morman blogs" out there, and what they say on this topic today, as I am sure many of the ears of LDS faithful perked up upon that question and Mitt's reply).