Today’s Reading List – May 16, 2007
David Brody, writing drawing from the Deseret News, predicted Romney's religion as unavoidable in the debate last night.
Lowell: Wrong. In the words of NRO's Michael Graham:
Did I Miss It? or have we made it through this debate without the word "Mormon?" And in SOUTH CAROLINA.
No, he didn't miss it. Religion did not come up at all. That is because the Fox News questioners (Brit Hume, Wendell Goler, and Chris Wallace) are so much more competent than Chris Matthews.
Well, except for the graphic listing of the candidate's religion when they were on screen, something that is certainly innocuous by comparison with the last debate, but I think we are being desensitized. As far as I know that's a first in history. Do you think Lincoln and Douglas' introductions included mentions of their faith?
Back to Brody who formulates the question wrong in my opinion:
The real question is this: Will Evangelicals vote their theology or their values?
There are two problems with this formulation. The first is that it is not so much about Evangelicals as it is about the media and the left (maybe the same thing) trying to make it about them. If the media were not constantly and loudly beating the Mormon drum, most Evangelicals would focus on the issues – period.
But the second problem is that it should not be about theology OR entirely about values – it should be about who can do the job, the whole job. Whatever else can be said, Mitt Romney may be the most competent executive ever to seek the ultimate executive office, and yet he is being denied the opportunity to tell that story by a media relentless telling the religion story, which is just silly.
Can anyone reasonably think that some sort of religious whacko could achieve that level of competence? And it looks like Jim DeMint agrees with me. As Jim Geraghty reports on a Romney campaign conference call:
John Hinderacker [sic] of Power Line seeks a comment on the quality of the news coverage of Romney (asking about premarital sex, Mormonism, what he hates about America, etc.) and whether Sign Up America is an effort to go around the media.
DeMint says he is concerned the media "is trying to pigeonhole Romney into a radical religious portrait. Frustrating that the media continues to focus on abortion, a few other things, his religion. I think that’s starting to get old. The web, blogs, calls like this are efforts to get around the media and let people know he’s got a broad range of attributes and that he’s not a niche candidate."
In the build up to the debate, Mara Liasson proves, once again, our primary thesis – it's the liberals that are stuck on the religion thing. There are about a thousand reasons the South Caroliae polling looks like it does, not the least of which is the polls are just wrong. Romney did take a few SC straw polls in the last weeks. It could also be dirty tricks and underground tactics too.
It seems like Rich Lowry has finally bought our thesis as well.
But former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney represents the first "first" that has elicited a lukewarm reaction from the media. Journalists constantly run stories about whether Romney can become the first Mormon president – with an undercurrent suggesting that they'd be just fine if he can't.
[...]
Yet the harshest anti-Mormon condemnations have come from the left.
His concluding paragraphs are also amusing as it sounds remarkably like he has read some book somewhere. Now, if there was only credit where credit is due…
Why is Politico helping Pew feed the beast we are trying to tame? The only result this can produce is religious discrimination.
Lowell: Go to the Romney page in these profiles. Seven news articles are listed as "must-reads." Six of them are about how Romney's religion is a problem for him. Now compare the other candidates' pages. See the difference? I agree with John; I don't think this is helpful.
Ahem…attention Al Sharpton, noted religious bigot, you're wrong.
Looks like a columnist at the SLTrib agrees with what I said Monday. Concludes Rebecca Walsh:
With that as background noise, the reach of Romney's run is limited. Even if the candidate fades away, the church's peculiarity probably will not.
I don't represent that such is right, but it is, I think, true.
Lowell (waxing philosophical): Maybe my children will be regarded as less "peculiar" as Mormons than I am. Maybe not. It really doesn't matter.
Posted in Reading List | Comment on this post » | 
Print this post
| 
Email This Post