Romney, in a crisp white shirt and tie, brushed past dust-coated cans and $8 bottles of syrup tapped from local maple trees during a quick campaign stop Thursday. The proprietors of Lowe's General Store, the fifth generation of the area's original mountain guides, wanted Romney to try their new Coke product. Romney happily accepted. Then he noticed the label.

"Ooh," Romney said, "I don't drink tea."

But an aide would drink it, Romney assured owner Lucille Lowe.

No one questioned why Romney wouldn't try the new green tea drink, and the former Massachusetts governor plopped down a $20 bill to buy some beef jerky, another soda, a candy bar and the tea for the aide.

Lost on the townspeople was that Romney refused the tea because Mormon teaching forbids it. And no one seemed to worry that his Mormonism could imperil his presidential bid, as many political observers have said.

During a six-stop, one-day tour of New Hampshire, the state with the nation's first primary election in January, no one asked Romney whether he really was a Mormon, whether Mormons believe in Jesus Christ or how many wives he had.

Instead, they wanted to know about securing the borders, about Iraq, about taxes, and about why hospitals charge $2 for a single Band-Aid.

For Romney, whose role in leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to success brought him national acclaim, those are the important questions. Americans want a faithful candidate, he said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, and not one from any specific faith.

"They want someone who believes in a creator, someone who believes in a greater purpose to life than just the here-and-now and the selfishness of their own life," he said. "But I don't think that the American people in the final analysis have shown that they care about the doctrinal differences between different faiths."

Between campaign stops, Romney, 59, talked about his faith, his personal goals and his bid for the White House.

He formed a presidential exploratory committee early in January and instantly became one of the leading contenders for the 2008 Republican nomination. He also became the most formidable Mormon to ever aspire to the White House.

Poll after poll has shown that Romney's faith may be his tallest hurdle. A sizable swath of Americans say they wouldn't even consider voting for a Mormon, a faith viewed as peculiar, odd or even cultish to some evangelical voters.

Romney, however, emphasizes that he shares the same beliefs as most voters. His surrogates and supporters have coined the phrase that they're not "voting for pastor, we're voting for president," but Romney says that doesn't mean his faith isn't at the center of who he is.

"I found people who are faithful in virtually any denomination to have the same core values, and by that I mean they love God; they love their fellow men and women and see them as children of the same creator; they love their country; they recognize a need to serve their community and to serve their fellow man; and they recognize their own weaknesses and try and improve on themselves," he said. "My faith . . . has made me a better person, as other faiths have made other people better people."

Romney didn't mention his religion at any of his stops, but he never failed to talk about the Olympics.

Career 'highlight'

Romney took over as head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee after a bribery scandal ousted his predecessors. In New Hampshire, he described how struck he was by the athletes' humility and pride, especially that of the Americans. And he recalled how Americans rejoiced when one of their own won a gold medal, and not just because that person was the best in the world.

"It's because they were proud to represent the country that's the hope of the world," Romney said.

He told The Tribune that running Bain Capital, a venture capital firm that made him a multimillionaire, taught him the leadership necessary to salvage the Games.

"I can tell you that the Olympic experience was the highlight of a professional career," he said. "And that's because there was no dissension with almost no exceptions, the whole community wanted to see the Games become successful and pulled together in a way I will never forget. Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal - everyone came to do whatever they could to host the world in a way that would be unforgettable, and they did."

On the stump

At the start of his first swing through New Hampshire since he announced his intentions, Romney surged with energy. Medical students, hospital administrators, doctors and nurses awaited him in the auditorium of the state's largest hospital.

A mix of motivational speaker and board chairman, Romney started with a joke, then moved on to the "extraordinary challenges" America faces - such as competition with Asian markets, "jihadists" bent on destroying the American way of life and improving underperforming schools.

Then there's health care, Romney's principal interest since he pushed through a mandatory health insurance coverage initiative in Massachusetts.

He cited statistics, used terms such as "acute condition," and even acknowledged the initiative isn't perfect and likely will need to be reformed.

A few Mormons had come to hear Romney, but most people were there to see one of the many presidential candidates who will speak in the same forum. Romney said he welcomes all, including LDS faithful, but he's not going to link to the church in any way.

"My goal is not to affiliate in any way my campaign with any other organization, whether it's my faith or anyone else's," Romney said in the interview. "But I want to get as much support as I can from every possible person in this country who supports my effort, and whether they're Presbyterian, Catholic, Mormon or Jewish, I want their help."

In the living room of late New Hampshire Gov. Meldrim Thomson Jr., Romney pitched himself to what seemed to be half the town of Orford. A single-action rifle hung over the lit fireplace, a wagon-wheel chandelier hung above and Romney joked that there were more Republicans in that room than in all of Massachusetts. Then he launched into his extemporaneous stump speech.

Near the end, Romney mentioned that he believes in America and he believes in God. Good enough for the audience.

Gibb Cornwell, of Lyme, N.H., said he doesn't care that Romney's a Mormon. "A person's beliefs are that person's affair."

The Mormon candidate?

The first Mormon to run for president was Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was killed by a mob shortly thereafter. Romney's father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, tried unsuccessfully for the White House in 1968, Arizona Democrat Mo Udall ran in 1976, and Utah's Sen. Orrin Hatch tried it in 2000. But this Romney appears to have more traction than any of the previous contenders from his faith.

Romney said he's not sure what it means for his religion to have a Mormon as a frontrunner.

"I can only tell you that I'm involved in this effort because I'm really concerned about the challenges America faces," he said. "I want America to be safe and prosperous in the future for my kids and grandkids."

So far, Romney said, he hasn't decided whether he will give a speech like that of soon-to-be-President Kennedy in 1960, when he promised that his Catholic faith would not mean the pope would dictate U.S. policy.

"That's something I'll assess as we go along," Romney said, noting that he has been encouraged by the response of evangelical Christian pastors about his religion. "Perhaps down the road there will be a need to address religion and politics, but that's not something I've decided yet."

tburr@sltrib.com