posted by Justin Hart | 7:32 AM |
permalinkOne rival campaign just noted that Romney has the week to himself with the announcement of the speech. That is just one of the many upsides. Yes, expectations are high, but consider:
- Romney & Co. know what needs to be addressed
- They've had a year to prepare for the speech (if not longer)
- All cameras will be his for one night and the press will be his for the rest of the week
- This gives people an excuse to move their vote to Romney and save face
- If he does well, the momentum could prove the turning point in this campaign
In the end, however, this is no mean feat. The good folks at
Article 6 blog articulate the issues that Romney has to juggle:
- Ignorance of Mormonism, and resulting distrust or suspicion of Romney by people who generally lack malice;
- Distrust of Mormonism by others with serious theological differences who believe such differences actually have something to do with choosing a presidential candidate;
- The belief (held by many who are also in category no. 2) that Mormonism is a serious menace to society and to the eternal salvation of mankind, and that electing a Mormon president would only serve to legitimize that menace;
- Outright bigotry by those who really hate Mormonism, either from religious conservatives who see the faith as an all-too-successful competitors for parishioners, or left-wing bigots like Jacob Weisberg who dispute any belief in the miraculous;
- Last, but perhaps most important in this context, politicians and their consultants (Huckabee for now, certainly Clinton in the general election, if Romney is nominated), who see an opening here and are exploiting it. This category is the most disgusting of them all.
I'll have more on this later.
Labels: mitt romney, mormonism, the mormon speech, the speech
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