August 7, 2007
Mitt Romney's own Party has made religious passion fair game, and Romney will be enquired how his conviction would affect his policies.
Few Americans raised their once raised their voice about the Mormon faith when Mitt Romney's father was fighting for presidency 40 years ago, maybe for the reason that the guy flamed out so rapidly.
As a Republican associate, Gov. James Rhodes of Ohio, once said, ''Watching George Romney run for the presidency was like watching a duck try to make love to a football.''
But it is not true in case of Romney. Mitt Romney is an important candidate in 2008, wealthy and disciplined, and he's fighting in an age when presidential candidates are nearly expected to show off their religiosity. This is predominantly right in the Republican camp, where faiths, religion and politics are now regularly intertwined; definitely, candidate George W. Bush upped the ante at the time of year 2000, when he alleged that his much liked philosopher was Jesus, ''because he changed my life.''
So it's no surprise Romney is facing questions about his lifelong devotion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the breakaway theology that considers itself humankind's ''one true church.'' He had hoped to stonewall this issue, insisting in a TV interview 18 months ago that ''I'm never going to get into a discussion about my personal beliefs.''
But today his statements are circulating that Romney will talk about his faith in an autumn speech.
Romney's main difficulty is that skeptics are simply weird out.
As Romney lately told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt, ''I believe in my faith. I love my faith, and I would in no way, shape, or form try to distance myself from my faith or the fundamental beliefs of my faith.''
He was a church person in charge in Massachusetts, as were his descendants out West. And his great-grandfather was having five wives, after being individually instructed to perform polygamy by Smith's successor, Brigham Young.
But does all this mean Romney is feeling too peculiar to show the way to America? The truth is, most religions look peculiar to outsiders.
