Article VI Blog

OK, for regular readers, this week should have demonstrated the REAL reason we have argued against a speech – trying to do this blog’s task this week has been overwhelming. (Please remember Lowell and I, and those that help us – Sonja, Dale, Asher – have “day jobs” that pay actual bills.) [Lowell: Well, we used to, at least. ] Anyway, things seemed to have slowed down for the weekend. Maybe things can return to “normal” by Monday. The blue box will contain the latest through the weekend. There are a few pieces of note this Saturday morning.

Some things are not helpful . . .

The Los Angeles Times does a piece on Evangelical reaction:

But will it help Romney, a Mormon, win over the key voting bloc of conservative Christians?

The broad consensus: probably not.

“I’m not sure it’s going to work for evangelical voters,” said Collin Hansen, editor-at-large at the evangelical monthly Christianity Today. “Pure and simple, there are very dramatic differences” between the Mormon faith and other Christian traditions. “People wonder, does he really believe that — and if so, can I really trust him?”

What Romney’s speech did is draw a line in the sand. He spoke about the great American traditions of religious freedom and tolerance. He pointed out, simply, that if as a religious person you wish to participate in the great American discussion, you’d better be on the right side of the line.

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I am fairly sure that no speech ever given by a candidate before a single primary vote has even been cast has ever received anywhere near this amount of coverage and commentary. It’s extraordinary. As has been true all week, the blue box at right is a “ticker” of sorts for you to follow most of what is worth reading and in this space we look at stuff we deem worthy of quote or comment.

In general the “good speech” commentary is outweighing the “bad speech” commentary significantly; however, the vast majority of the positive commentary is of the “Yes, but…” variety. Some of that is just the nature of commentary in general, “AMENS” do not appear as serious thought.

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I just got back from College Station. Here’s what I came up with on the plane ride home.

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This was not a good day for Mike Huckabee and others who may hope to use religious faith as a weapon in the 2008 campaign. Right after the speech I was wandering around the front of the Bush Library auditorium and witnessed the following exchange between a wire reporter and a senior Romney aide.

The Romney aide was looking at his Blackberry and said, “The response is amazing. I can’t believe who I am getting e-mails from.”

Reporter (with a twinkle in his eye): “Is there one from the Huckabee campaign?”

Romney aide (laughing): “No, but what would they be saying right now?”

Reporter: “Damn!”

They both laughed. Both knew Romney had accomplished something important this morning.

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I find myself with some time in the airport prior to returning to sunny SoCal so I have done a quick read through of the reaction pieces. You will find almost all of them listed, as we have done all week, in the blue box in the sidebar. Though not available at press time for this post, the video of the speech will appear in “Straight From The Source” in the red box on the right very soon, along with initial commentary from Lowell and me just minutes after the speech.

Most of the pieces that have been written to the moment have been pretty factual retellings of the event with extensive quotations. When it is up, check the STFS post which will link to the speech text if you would prefer to read rather than watch.

My own reaction remains the same as my initial: “presidential.” He simply raised the bar for religion and this campaign. Anyone that now runs based on a religious identity of any sort will appear close-minded and foolish. It is just that simple.

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Mark Hemingway of NRO has gone to the trouble of writing what the thinks Romney should say tomorrow. I’m afraid much of Hemingway’s offering is pretty boring. But it includes some interesting ideas, like these closing paragraphs:

I do acknowledge that some aspects of Mormonism as it has been practiced in the past have been controversial. My Church abandoned polygamy over 110 years ago. And though African American men were originally granted equal rights in the early church, my Church did not allow them to hold the priesthood — authority that otherwise was given to all males of age in the church — until 1978. Since then the Mormon Church has been incredibly active in mission efforts in Africa where the church is booming, as well as involved in missionary work and outreach among nearly every other culture in the world.

That the church made this change in my lifetime was enormously important to me. My father marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and I was always raised to believe in the primary importance of civil rights. In my career as public servant, I have fought and I will continue to fight with all I have in me for the basic protections of all Americans that allow them to be treated fairly.

In the end, I sincerely hope that by the questions raised by my candidacy, have helped Americans better understand Mormonism as well as their own beliefs. But while I encourage dialogue, I will not discuss the doctrine of my church. Not because I have anything to hide or do not wish to do so, but rather because it is a distraction. So with that, I will take this one opportunity to discuss the beliefs of my church only insofar as they are relevant to my public life.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has thirteen “Articles of Faith” that concisely outline what we believe. So fundamental are they that Mormon children are encouraged to memorize them. As I said before, I won’t pretend that some of these articles of faith are universal. But the last three articles of faith are the most instructive here so I will read them:

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul — We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

It is my hope that all Americans, and not just Mormons, subscribe to these three articles of faith. I have tried to live by them, and as always is the case, I have not lived up to these standards perfectly. But I have learned a great deal in my struggle to be privately virtuous and publicly honorable, and I believe that what I have learned makes me the man best suited at this juncture in history to lead this nation. But I will not deny that my private faith has always guided me and will continue to guide me as a leader. It guided me as I served capably as governor of Massachusetts, and will guide me ably when I serve as your president. Thank you.

Is there any problem with Romney expressing these ideas? Well, the first that comes to mind is this: There will be endless stories and commentators, some featuring rogues with an axe to grind, some featuring men and women of good will, some simply mistaken, all exploring those comments, ad nauseum. That’s all we’ll hear about Romney for days afterwards. What was that priesthood and African American men issue all about? (For those who don’t know, aside from polygmay it is one of the most controversial, misunderstood, and confusing parts of Mormon history.) And polygamy . . . need I say more?

I am now off to Texas to hear the speech. More later.

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Coverage of this Thursday’s impending speech remains massive, but at this point repetitive and lacking insight. We will see what the day holds. As yesterday, keep your eyes peeled on the blue box in the sidebar which will act as a sort of “ticker” linking to almost everything we find written about the speech. We will update this post through the day with actual news, or anything we deem worthy of comment.

The overnight coverage fell into three basic categories:

• What is Romney going to say?
• Having it completely wrong about what he is going to say
• What do Mormons think about all this

Let’s consider each in turn.

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Posted in Candidate Qualifications, Electability, Political Strategy, Religious Bigotry, The Speech, Understanding Religion | 2 Comments » |  Print this post |  Email This Post