Meet Mitt. He's Mormon.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Romney has long been talked about as a legitimate presidential candidate, but he has not gotten the media attention that some of the other frontrunners have. (Newsbusters complains that Romney's announcement got 1/54th as much coverage on the "Early Show" that Barack Obama's did.) Romney isn't quite polling at Obama levels, and he's still far behind Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. But he is a top-tear candidate with good fundraising prospects and a "great chance to be the nominee," according to Hotline editor Chuck Todd.
Romney's primary problem, at this early stage in the campaign, is that a lot of Americans don't know who he is. And if they do, there's a good chance that they know him mainly for one thing: his religion. The press corps has jumped all over Romney's Mormonism – it was the focus of Gloria Borger's "Evening News" piece on Romney's announcement last night, as well as the subject of numerous stories in major newspapers.
Is the focus on Romney's religion fair? In a CBS News poll, 27 percent of those surveyed said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon Republican presidential candidate. So Romney's faith is certainly a legitimate issue. But an earlier CBS News poll showed that a similar, if slightly smaller, percentage of the population said they wouldn't vote for a female or African-American candidate either. And while reporters have certainly discussed Hillary Clinton's sex and Obama's race, they have also looked at other angles when covering those candidates.
Coverage of Obama, for example, tends to get into his rapid rise, his past indiscretions, and his inexperience, while Clinton coverage often focuses on her position on the Iraq war. Romney has an interesting back story – he's a Republican who had political success in Massachusetts, and he has been credited with rescuing the Salt Lake City Olympics – but his Mormonism has largely been the focus of stories about his candidacy. And if that doesn't change, it may end up defining it.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
The problem, in my view, is this: A recent poll in another newspaper says that 39 of voters are not familiar with the Mormon religion. Even Islam was much better understood.
Popular ignorance about himself and his religion is the greatest obstacle facing Romney.
It would appear to me, and it%u2019s early yet (very early) that Romney represents a coat of paint on the same old house.
Underwear? Romney isn't running to be the next drag queen, but President.
If you're referring to his religious beliefs again, then perhaps its time to move on to something important.
Whether the guy wears long underwear or none at all, it's not important.
Has he ever had multiple wives? No. Like I said, the other republican candidates have had more wives than Mitt the Mormon.
Does he come from one of those polygamous compounds? No. He grew up in Michigan. His Dad was the Governor of Michigan. Mitt went to Harvard and became governor of the most liberal state, Massachusetts.
The question is, can he govern the nation well, and does he have the skills and moral will to lead America?
It's very strange how conservative christians would even slight Romney's church for their "dance" with polygamy. Evangelical christians in particular claim biblical "Abraham" and his grandson, "Jacob" as their lineal or spiritual fathers, yet they were both polygamists.
Abraham had two wives and Jacob (who later became Israel) had four wives. Go figure.
and, does Mitt Romney were special underware?
What "dangerous" things happened to Massachusetts while Mitt Romney was govenor because he was Mormon? What "dangerous" things happened to Michigan while his father was governor of that state?
America has a surprisingly high number of Mormon politicians, corporate leaders, sports/entertainment personalities (radio hosts Glen Beck and Lars Larson), higher education leaders (e.g., recent Harvard Business School head), government/military leaders (e.g., Mike Levett, Sec of Health and Human Resources), etc.
Can anti-Mormon writers name ONE active Mormon who did "dangerous" things to America because of his/her religion? If anything, being a "Mormon" is a great indicator that the person--in this case Mitt Romney--will be a hardworking, fair, honest, and effective leader, and a great credit to his position.
On the light side, as a conservative, I agree that Democrat Senate majority Leader Harry Reid is a "danger" to America, but not because he's a Mormon--it's his liberal politics.
DVilt, Major, USAF, Ret.
I think it is productive when making a voting decision in an election to look at what each candidate has done and how they react to questions posed to them.
Voter will need to answer those type of questions for themselves: Did Mitt mix religion with his Mass. governorship? Has he made good decisions?
and, was Mitt raised in one of those compound enclaves?
It's funny you would suggest Obama's gaining greater coverage from CBS because he's polling better. Did anyone check a poll over the last two years at the networks hailed Obama as the Next Big Thing? Obama's polling numbers are in part due to lots of gooey network publicity. Tim G.
- by mattcat25 February 14, 2007 6:42 PM EST
- Does Mitt Romney have more then one wife?
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See all 15 Commentsand, are any of them under aged?
(like only twelve).