posted by Kyle Hampton | 9:34 PM |
permalinkDouglas Kmiec, who I heard speak this year down at Pepperdine Law School (he's brilliant),
says that Romney should give "The Speech" about Mormonism:
It’s too late — the governor and his faith have our attention. For better or worse, Mormonism is on the public table. The “good news” part, for Romney, is that the public interest signifies how important he has become in the presidential sweeps. Romney leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he is now being taken seriously as a prospective nominee. The “bad news” part is that, despite Romney’s desire to think only the best of his fellow citizens — to think that no one would disqualify a person merely because of faith, 218 years after the promise of religious freedom in the First Amendment — such a vision of religious freedom is not yet a reality.
I personally disagree with Kmiec, but he makes a convincing case. I think that there is little to gain from such a speech. It will undoubtedly increase media attention on the divide between Mormons and other Christians. This does Romney little good and likely will do him much harm. I think the campaign has taken the right steps regarding religion, letting endorsements and endorsers make the case to voters. This is one of those areas where I think that actions (particularly those of evnagelical endorsers) speak louder than any words that Romney could utter.
Perhaps I'm wrong? Apparently a smart guy, and Romney supporter, like Kmiec thinks so.
Labels: religion
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