Salon explores the "complicated set of calculations" the Romney campaign faced in the candidate's lightning Utah visit to pay respects to the late LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley Saturday.

In outlining Mitt's reticence to draw attention to his faith, Salon turns up something more disturbing, something not touched upon by local media: Few, if any non-Mormon American or world dignitaries showed up for the LDS prophet's funeral.

"Barely 170 years after the religion burst into existence, it still apparently makes some mainstream Christians squeamish enough that only Mormon bigwigs in national politics (Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada; Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, attending on behalf of President Bush; Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett) came to the service. Compare that to the scene three years ago, when Catholic and Protestant elected officials alike made a big show of flocking to Rome to see Pope John Paul II buried, and you can understand how the visit posed a dilemma for Romney."

The article goes on to discuss just how carefully Romney's campaign played down his visit. "Only reporters traveling with the campaign got the details of the funeral. He came and went through an underground garage, leaving his press entourage behind.... The church-owned Deseret Morning News led Saturday's paper with Romney's visit to the state — giving it more attention than his own campaign did."

I've got to wonder what the dignitary count will be when Billy Graham crosses over the River Jordan (the other one)?