Defending His Faith

By: Hillary Profita
Topics: In The News

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Since Mitt Romney officially announced his run for the 2008 presidential campaign, news outlets have been (repeatedly) asking how he will approach what they deem to be his biggest campaign challenge: being Mormon.

While the Romney campaign would not confirm or deny its authenticity, the Boston Globe has obtained "an exhaustive internal campaign document" that examines that question specifically.

The Globe writes of the document:

It acknowledges that some view Mormonism as weird and lists ways Romney should defend his faith, from highlighting the way he has lived his life, rather than which church he attends, to acknowledging theological differences with mainline Christian denominations while refusing to be drawn into an extensive discussion of Mormon doctrine and practices. It also suggests Romney might soon need to address the issue head-on, perhaps as John F. Kennedy did in a 1960 speech amid concerns about his relationship to the Catholic Church.

The document appears to raise the possibility of Romney delivering such an address at George H.W. Bush's presidential library outside Houston, the same city where Kennedy gave his. Enmity toward France, where Romney did his Mormon mission during college, is a recurring theme of the document. The European Union, it says at one point, wants to "drag America down to Europe's standards," adding: "That's where Hillary and Dems would take us. Hillary = France." The plan even envisions "First, not France" bumper stickers.

Asked about the document, a Romney campaign spokesman told the Globe that "if anything, it's a compilation of political conventional wisdom." Nonetheless, it's an interesting look inside some ultra specific concerns about Romney's image. Among them, writes the Globe: "His hair looks too perfect."

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by katiel7 February 28, 2007 2:33 PM EST: I think that after we all get educated about the basic world religions we should be able to cut out teh religionism in our country and move on to issues that are really important- such as extreme global poverty and the Millennium Development Goals- afterall, isn't a president supposed to be ellected based on the issues, not their religious beliefs.; Reply to this comment


by jcs791 February 27, 2007 9:53 PM EST: The best approach to address the perceived public concern over his religion would be to ask 2 simple questions: 1. "Which LDS teachings would be detrimental to the American way of life or the classic version of American values?" 2. "Which LDS teachings are congruent with classic American values and would make this country a better place if more people lived them?"

He needs to help people see that the differences they have with the LDS church are purely doctrinal in nature. When they see what a huge force for good this church is in the world, this "challenge" as CBS puts it will become an asset.

The "challenge" isn't his Mormonism, it is the public's (and esp. the media's) ignorance of Mormonism.; Reply to this comment

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