Mitt at a Recent Rally
A “secret video” that the Mother Jones Web site brought to light a couple of days ago supposedly tells the world what Mitt Romney really thinks about people around him, especially those who have made less money than he has:
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The last thing this presidential election should be about is the religion of either the candidates or the voters. Because we live in the United States of America, a country founded on the principle of religious freedom, we should neither vote for or against a candidate because of his or her religion or because of the choice we as voters have made in that regard. Rather, we should base our decisions on the kind of person the candidate is, as exemplified by the life he or she has led, as well as the qualifications they would bring to the office.
With respect to that concern, a lot is being made for and against Mitt Romney and his qualifications to serve as president. Interestingly, a book from a few years ago, which has now been updated ,can provide some important insights for the race at hand. CBS News did a a very good overview of the book and included pictures that had not been previously published. An important key worth noting here is that the pictures of the work on the stump were taken by the homeowner and had only previously been available as circulated via E-mail. I have commented before that Mitt is a very modest man and is not one to brag about the things that he does to serve others.
No matter what we might wish, the question of Mitt’s religion is not going away. Blatant evidence comes from Lawrence O’Donnell’s vile attacks on Mormonism, one from 2007 and another one last evening. Noah Glyn underscores both of these in The Corner at National Review Online and states at the end “Don’t hold your breath for O’Donnell’s condemnation of Harry Reid and other Mormon Democrats.”
Mitt Cooking up Some Ribs
Despite several key endorsements for Mitt today and in recent days and the wailing and gnashing of teeth seen and heard coming out of the Santorum Campaign, it still seems reasonable to wonder about the significance of the results in Louisiana on Saturday. Jack Welch, the highly successful, former CEO of General Electric stated that Mitt Romney is the most qualified leader to run for president of these United States in his life time. I agree with that assessment, not only based on what anyone can see if they take the time to look closely at Mitt’s record of accomplishments, but also based on personal knowledge going back 45 years. Voters in Louisiana, however, came to a very different conclusion on Saturday for reasons seemingly unknown to most reporters and commentators.
We had a lot of fun yesterday with the Etch A Sketch dustup, but it seems we need some more serious attention to counter the flip-flopping meme that continues. Despite (1) MItt’s four years as a conservative governor in a liberal state, (2) his participation in the 20 or so debates we have seen this cycle, (3) his book No Apology, and (4) his numerous policy statements and speeches, I have friends who still criticize Mitt for (1) supposedly changing his positions over time and (2) supposedly not being a strong supporter of the Constitution. The first assertion is partially true and the second is completely false.
I had hoped to leave the issue of bigotry aside a while and enjoy the results of what could be a good day for Mitt in the Illinois primary (PPP has him up by 15% “on his way to a Florida style romp” and ARG by 14% and he “leads with 41% among likely Republican primary voters saying they are supporters of the Tea Party“). Then the issue blasted its way back into my consciousness yesterday when I came across an article on the Huffington Post Web site, “Pastor Dennis Terry Introduces Rick Santorum, Tells Non-Christians And Liberals To Get Out“.
Mitt & Ann with Illinois Pancake
I had decided that the next post was going to be about positive things happening during this election. Sure, we see bigotry, but there are lots of people of all religious views who are looking beyond the issue of Mitt’s religion and like what they see. They see a man who is the smartest and hardest working person one can imagine. They see a man who loves his family and knows how to make them his most important earthly consideration.
Here is an example of some folks in Illinois who saw Mitt at a restaurant and almost could not believe their eyes and ears. The headline in the Los Angeles Times read, “‘Presidential’ Romney wins over Illinois family,” and the article recounted:
Mitt and Ann Romney
The day before Mitt lost the primaries in Alabama and Mississippi on 13 March, the Internet-based marketing firm, YouGov.com, published an article by Michael Tesler entitled “Evangelical Opposition to Romney NOT Rooted in Anti-Mormonism.” Based in the UK, YouGov.com seems to be a serious organization. Nevertheless, it appears that this author falls prey to the classic problem of confusing correlation with causality, an issue I raised earlier. Continue reading
Mitt Romney
I began this post last week as a way of explaining the significance of what I felt could happen in the South today. Now, as the final votes are counted, I am deeply disappointed for reasons that are far more important than vote counts and delegate tallies. Sure, I had hoped that endorsements of governors and former governors were going to make the impossible happen. When Alabama’s Randy Owen and redneck favorite, Jeff Foxworthy stepped in to help, my confidence rose even further. Despite the letdown, my disappointment comes from a different place than the numbers flashing by at the bottom of our TV screens. It comes from the place where pride in one’s heritage establishes itself at an early age and grows inside us as we mature from child to adult. There is something inside us that makes us want to be loyal to where we come from, to our family, to our tribe, our homeland, even our team. When any of those disappoints us, it hurts. Continue reading
Mitt Romney
A friend just sent me a link to a blog post that recounts the experience of the writer’s cousin with his “home teacher,” which he explains in Mormon parlance to be a “spiritual first responder” who “jumps at any opportunity to be of service.”
Providing some good insights into Mitt Romney as a person and a leader in a way that entirely suits the purposes of MittTheMan.com, the entire post is worth reading, especially by someone who has no idea what service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entails. Here is the gist of the story:
A few years back, a hive of hornets decided to make its nest on top of a second-story swamp cooler outside my cousin’s Boston-area home. My cousin made an ill-fated attempt to remove the hornets, which resulted in a two-story fall and a broken arm.
“This looks like a job for your home teacher,” said my cousin’s home teacher. Continue reading
