Mormon in race against McCain?

[USA11B]

Mormon in race against McCain
Sarah Baxter, Washington
October 21, 2006
IN an essential rite of passage for American politicians, Mitt Romney was ushered into the presence of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher at a Washington think tank last month.

If not quite an official anointing, the handshake and chat with so venerable a figure was an unmistakable sign to conservatives that he was "one of us".

The improbably handsome right-wing Governor of left-wing Massachusetts is generating enormous buzz as the conservative with the best chance of beating independent-minded senator John McCain for the 2008 Republican nomination.

When his term in office expires in January, Mr Romney is expected to throw himself helter-skelter into the presidential race.

Mr Romney is already crisscrossing the country as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, bearing large cheques and a ready smile for candidates in next month's mid-term elections.

His meeting with Baroness Thatcher was swiftly incorporated into his patter. "Can you imagine? It was such an extraordinary honour to be able to sit down with her, person-to-person," he said.

"We talked about the condition of the world and I said, 'I'm optimistic that we'll overcome these problems', and she paused and said, 'We always have'."

Mr Romney looks like a taller version of Martin Sheen in The West Wing, has been married to his high school sweetheart for 37 years and has five photogenic children. At 59, he is no youngster but is frequently ribbed about his film-star appearance.

He would be straight out of central casting were it not for one startling drawback: Mr Romney is a Mormon, a religion some evangelical Christians regard with disdain.

In a potential double whammy, he also speaks French (a source of ridicule for 2004 Democratic candidate John Kerry), having been a Mormon missionary as a young man in France.

Mr Romney, who already has a fan club called Evangelicals for Mitt, thinks the religious issue will fizzle. "People used to wonder whether a divorced actor could be elected," he said, referring to Ronald Reagan, "or whether a Mormon could win Massachusetts, a state that is 55 per cent Catholic. There was probably a time when people cared which church you went to, but that's past. People today look to see a person's faith in the way they live in their home with their family."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outlawed polygamy long ago. But as one wag has noted, in a 2008 Republican field consisting of Senator McCain, Rudolph Giuliani and Newt Gingrich, the only man who has had one wife would be the Mormon.

On the campaign trail last week, he stopped by at a fundraiser in Philadelphia for Rick Santorum, one of the senators most identified with the Christian "values voters" who kept President George W. Bush in power in 2004. The night before, he had attended a 10th anniversary party for conservative journal National Review Online, where the stars of Washington's conservative firmament gossiped about his rising status as the candidate who could unite the "Republican wing of the Republican party".

As Governor, Mr Romney has already proved his appeal to swing voters. One party-goer described him as an American version of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying: "He's extremely eloquent, with strong convictions. He's a visionary who is attempting to create a health system which could be a model for the whole country."

Mr Romney is pioneering a market-based system for universal healthcare in his home state that he believes easily trumps Hillary Clinton's botched proposal when she was first lady.

"The first difference between hers and mine is that mine got voted in," he said tartly.
"Emphasis mine."
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[Woodmonkey]

It would be interesting to see if being a Mormon would be a strike against a candidate. Some vocal Fundamentalists think they are a cult.

[USA11B]

Katie, I'm a Methodist. Some will swear that I belong to a cult.

[Shooterman]

Originally Posted by USA11B

Katie, I'm a Methodist. Some will swear that I belong to a cult.

You don't?

[USA11B]

Originally Posted by Shooterman

You don't?

Thanks for confirming Mr. Shooterman.

[Woodmonkey]

I'm a Roman Catholic and have been accused of being in a cult myself.

We should found "Cults United"