The Media Obsesses on Mitt Romney's Mormon Religion

I am really tired of hearing every comment about Mitt Romney, or a GOP state caucus or primary, or an evaluation of the situation in the GOP presidential candidate search begin with the words:

He is a Mormon
There are a lot of Mormons in this state
The conservative wing of the GOP will never support a Mormon.

This is the 21st century, but it seems that the televised media, with the first offender being CNN, is fixated on the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon.
I actually had thought that in the United States religion is a personal matter, not to be controlled by the government and not to be used to make of anyone a targeted minority or second class citizen, who can then have his character indirectly assassinated by referring always to his religion.
It seems I was mistaken. At least CNN, or its left-leaning political commentators as a subgroup, do not share the views expressed in the Constitution. For them, the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon makes him suspect. They may say that they are merely expressing the views of polled Republican voters, but that would be a lie, because polled GOP voters are saying that Romney's religion is irrelevant. To prove this, they are voting for him in massive numbers.
So, what is the goal of the incessant "Mormonizing" of Mitt Romney by left wing political analysts? I suppose it is to make him a less dangerous candidate in the general election, which they always seem favor being won by Barak Obama. Or, perhaps they are simply so ill-informed that they really fear Mormons, despite all evidence to the contrary. If this is the case, they should be barred from commenting on the GOP primaries, because they are creating a photograph of America that is not real - they are belittling a religion that holds a place of respect among GOP voters (we will see if Democrats share the views of the CNN analysts later this year when they are polled) - and they are deliberately trying to create a negative aura around the man whom most Republicans want to be their presidential candidate in 2012. 
I am ashamed of this performance, which smacks of something out of the 1960s when black Americans were taking their first steps into the American political mainstream. Or perhaps something from 1960, when the fact that JFK was Catholic sent shock waves through some segments of American society.
We managed those aberrations, and we will manage the Mormon assault of the CNN-led media on Mitt Romney.
Mormons are respectable, honest, often more moral than most other Americans. Mitt Romney is living proof of this...and perhaps that is what frightens the media. It is not easy to find grounds to attack Romney, unless we accept that being a Mormon is somehow disqualifying. Oh, the same analysts are trying to distort his words to make issues out of his wealth or lack of contact with "normal" Americans...but this seems to fall mostly on deaf ears.
So, "Mormonizing" it is.
Do they know, by the way, that Senate Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid is a Mormon? I suspect they do know this, but I haven't heard them attacking his religious faith. 
Let us be clear. Attacking anyone because of his religious faith is out of bounds in America. If these political analysts want to play that game, they ought to move to China.