Team Obama and the left seem to know better than to play the Mormon card, but they sure do seem to want to let us know it is in their hand.
Apparently the pro-Obama, anti-Mormon scripted calls are still going on. This story keeps rolling and Obama better get it under control. So far it is background, but it is gaining momentum with new data. If he publicly acknowledges it, he blows the roof off of it, but he better get it shutdown or it is going to run away on him.
At this point, I take the story as more evidence of his inability to run anything. Remember in 2008 when his capacity to govern was called into question? He relied on his management of the campaign as evidence that he could manage a large enterprise. Well, his administration has proven his inability to operate the government, and it is increasingly looking like he can’t run a campaign either. The fact that these calls are out there, even as a small story, is evidence of his incapability.
There are several stories out there that seem to exist solely to mention that Romney is a Mormon.
A Reuters story about Romney’s relatives remaining in England was all over yesterday. I’ll link the Chicago Tribune as one example of at least 20 publications of this story that I saw. It starts as an entertaining human interest story, bu then it goes all Mormon. It returns to human interest only after the jump.
Buzzfeed ran a story about Harry Reid that makes it seem like Harry’s comments in re: Romney (Which have been pretty ugly you will recall) is really a struggle inside Mormonism between the left and the right politically:
Reid’s ideological differences with Romney represent deeper fault lines that run through American Mormonism. While the vast majority of U.S. Mormons are politically conservative, the church also contains a small but growing group of progressives, many of whom take defiant delight in parking their Obama bumper-stickered mini-vans in their church parking lots. Reid is a sort of folk hero to these types of liberal Latter-day Saints, and has long used his position to argue that Democrats have an important place in the faith.
That’s just proof Mormons have more in common with orthodox Christianity than most think. There are a number of prominent Catholic Democrats that have a hard time getting communion in the Roman Catholic Church becasue of their pro-abortion stance, but they are also folk-heroes to liberal Catholics.
And this CNN story is just annoying:
The pastor who delivered a passionate invocation at Paul Ryan’s rally in Rochester, Michigan on Monday evening told CNN earlier this year that the man at the top of the Republican ticket, Mitt Romney, is not a Christian.
Hmmm…. At this point, my reaction is, “So what?” He probably still thinks that, but Romney is the candidate and conservatives want to win. He may have preferred someone he considered a Christian for the Republican nominee, but facts being what they are, he is helping the Republicans win. This story exists for no other reason than to try and divide Republicans. I have news for these guys, Obama’s cluelessness is a stronger binder than these religious differences are a divider. Martin Luther sad, “I’d rather be governed by a wise Turk than a stupid Christian.” For many orthodox Christians that may have Mormon issues, that quote sums up this election in a nutshell.
I thought this piece at PJMedia written by an Australian had a very interesting viewpoint:
To start with, there’s the matter of his faith. To Australians, Mormonism is one of those funny not-quite-a-cult things that Americans produce in ridiculous numbers. Before anyone gets up in arms — Australians hold this same opinion of most of the Baptist churches, practically all the mega-churches, 100% of televangelism, and a good chunk of the traditionally “black” churches. For most Aussies, if it doesn’t fall into the buckets of Catholic, Anglican (aka Episcopalian), or Uniting (formed by a merger of Methodist and Presbyterian), it doesn’t really count as Christian.
One could either discuss that for hours and hours or leave it lay – I think I’ll leave it lay, at least for a moment.
And then finally, from a WaPo blog, this observation:
The lack of affirmative messages or even good explanations was made clear by David Axelrod’s comments on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday. Axelrod said Obama was “taken aback” by Romney’s performance in the debate. In other words, the president was intimidated. It is a shocking admission to say that when the president’s assertions are challenged, he cannot make the case for his own reelection.
And hence we can see the difference between self-image and character. Barack Obama certainly has one of the strongest self-images we have ever seen in a public figure that was not in sports or entertainment. Self-image is formed in praise and affirmation. Remove the praise and admiration and an individual with a good self-image has nothing to fall back upon. But character is forged in adversity and with humility. Character is intimidated by little because it has withstood so much. Good religion builds character because it starts with an understanding of the less-than-admirable flaws that are within all of us and helps us strive to overcome them, that forges character.
There are many churches in the US that build self-image, but not character. While the line is fuzzier than he portrays it, the one drawn by our Aussie friend is indicative of this difference. This election is going to result in a lot of changes. Regardless of outcome, it will be historic for Mormons. Here’s hoping, and praying, it will be renewing for orthodox Christianity.