The Religious President
Candidates’ religious beliefs are taking a lead role in the 2008 Presidential race. Not since JFK in 1960 has religion taken center stage in deciding a president.
In 1960 John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, faced scrutiny because a Catholic had never been elected president. In 2008 former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is facing similar questions. Times are changing, in 1968 Romney’s father George was the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination and his Mormonism was barely a footnote.
According to the Washington Post, 32% of those who lean Republican would be “uncomfortable” with a Mormon president.
What is wrong with a president who is Mormon? I am not Mormon, but I don’t have any problem with it. Why do we suddenly care how many disciples our president believes Jesus had around him?
Mitt Romney will not distance himself from his religion to get ahead politically, I admire that.
The core issue at hand here is trust. For some reason we trust white middle-aged men who believe in Jesus to be out president. Who do you trust more: someone who firmly believes in something, or someone who will change what they believe in based on the most recent poll?
The fact that we all know what religion Mitt Romney is should speak volumes of his character. Off the top of your head what religion is Hillary Clinton? I would have to Google that myself.
I would rather have a president who firmly believes in something and governs based on his oath to the US Constitution, than a president who utilizes a faith that they do not believe in to get into office.
What is so scary about a Mormon President anyways? Will he suddenly sequester us to our homes on Sundays, ban caffeine and curse words? NO! Presidents govern based on what is best for the country, not on what their religion believes. Politicians understand the First Amendment.
In his 1960 presidential campaign JFK made a famous speech regarding his Catholic faith. It was a decisive moment for his legacy. In it he said, “ If this election is decided on the basis that 40,000,000 Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people.”
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:33 am
Trust is the key issue here. You hit it on the head, why do we trust guys with flip floppy religious convictions? I do wonder what kind of separation of church and state there would be under a Mormon president.
August 8th, 2007 at 1:14 am
As I said when I ran this website (by the way, marvelous job with it here! I approve!) is that the problem with Mitt Romney is that he is a MORMON - a dangerous, racist, misogynist cult that has somehow, by putting crucifixes up in their homes, slipped away from that title. But the Book of Mormon promotes the genocide of Native Americans, treating women like property, and is disenfranchising to other minorities. I cannot vote for a man who is part of this kind of cult - and by cult I mean a set of beliefs without sound theological basis and strict amoral tenets.