The fact the Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, is a Mormon is a fact that has dogged Romney throughout the campaign. According to a recent poll, 1/3 of all Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon for President. And no surprise, many of those intolerant bigots are people from the religious right of the Republican party. Now again, I do not support Romney or his views, but by no way do I think that any candidate should be judged by his religion--or for that matter his or her race, gender, etc.
There has been talk about Mitt Romney giving a speech to address doubts about his faith and supposedly the speech is already written, just waiting for Romney to give it. There is reportedly great debate withhin the Romney campaign on whether or not to give the speech. Here are my thoughts:
Right now, I don't see Romney needing to give the speech. He is far ahead in Iowa, his lead in New Hampshire has grown even more, and he is now ahead in South Carolina. If Romney is asked about his faith on the campaign trail, then surely he should answer it, as he has done. But to say that Romney needs to give this huge speech just doesn't make sense to me at this time. Why mess up something that is going so well? What exactly is Romney going to say anyway?
His religion doesn't seem to be hurting him yet; it is his values (genuine or not) that are actually helping him appeal to conservative Republicans. Now, of course, the general election is a different story. As more and more Americans pay attention to the Presidential race, Romney might need to address his Mormonism, much as J.F.K. did in 1960 about his Catholicism. But Romney should determine that when and if the time comes. Right now I would advise Romney to do keep up whatever he is doing, because it is working, and there is no need to jeopardize that.
5 comments :
I agree with the commentary. President Kennedy addressed his religion after he became the democratic nominee. I may add he made a great speech. The Republican right wing was responsible for questioning Kennedy's religion. They wanted to make a issue of it but his speech derailed them and he was elected president.
Mitt Romney doesn't stand a real chance at winning the presidency. You want a real candidate with real values? You want Hillary Clinton. Just trust me.
^I absolutely agree that Romney won't win the presidency----he doesn't have the appeal needed to win swing states like Florida and Ohio. And I am also with you on saying Hillary is the best candidate.
I don't know who has a chance of winning at this point, but Mitt Romney has done a great job as a governor. I think that people will look at the fact that any conservative who could do so well in a notoriously liberal state deserves some kudos. I think people are starting to realize that our country needs someone who isn't divisive and who knows how to bring people together to find a common solution for everyone. Romney is genius at that. Hillary is too divisive, in my opinion--even though she has many good qualities.
^" I think that people will look at the fact that any conservative who could do so well in a notoriously liberal state deserves some kudos."
I would normally agree, but Mitt won Massachusetts by taking liberal positions. He certainly didn't run as the conservative he is running as now. Still though, as I said, I feel Mitt would probably be the best candidate if I had to choose one Republican to win in '08 based on who I personally like. (except for Ron Paul of course) But my vote will be for whomever wins the Democratic nomination. We need change, and I feel only a Democrat can truly accomplish that.
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