Below we briefly noted Hugh Hewitt's interview with Senator James DeMint of South Carolina.  Hugh refers to DeMint, elected in 2004, as "one of the bright lights in the United States Senate."  On reviewing the interview transcript we noticed this tidbit:

Hewitt:  Senator DeMint, a couple of key questions. You’re from upstate South Carolina, you’re a Presbyterian. I think you’re an elder in your Church.

James DeMint: Right.

Hugh Hewitt: And you’re right there in the middle of the Bible Belt. Mitt Romney’s a Mormon, and a lot of people don’t think a lot of Evangelicals, particularly of the Southern variety, will vote for a Mormon. What do you say to that?

James DeMint: I think Romney will change that, because I know he’s changed it with me. And what I don’t want is someone running for president who wants to take some particular religious doctrine to president. I want someone from the faith community, though, who can translate from faith the values, the morality, the character that we not need in a president, but we need as an example for our country. I believe Romney can unite the faith community around some traditional value principles that work for every American. And so whether he’s Presbyterian or Mormon or whatever, I believe he has the tools to unite America around a common set of values.

I'll get out my crystal ball and predict that this kind of reasoning will be powerful stuff during the run-up to the South Carolina primary.  With Men like DeMint saying things like that, will any McCain whisper campaign be able to get off the ground?  Or will such view simply be marginalized?  I don't know; it will be fascinating to watch the story unfold. 

On the other hand, I do not think the Jim DeMints of the world will have any impact on left-liberal writers like Damon Linker and Jacob Weisberg. Will their views be marginalized also?  If Romney secures the Republican nomination, that will be the more important question.

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