Andrew Sullivan discovers Mormons
Mitt Romney and his faith have been keeping Time blogger Andrew Sullivan busy during the Thanksgiving doldrums.
Sullivan's Romney discovery came Wednesday, when The Rasmussen Report released a new poll that said 43 percent of voters would not consider voting for a Mormon. More intriguing to Sullivan was Romney's numbers among evangelical Christians, 53 percent of whom said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon. Writes Sullivan: "So this emerges as a delicious irony: a candidacy made possible by sectarian politics could subsequently be made impossible by the same forces. I'm sorry if I have little sympathy for Romney's plight. Live by fundamentalism; die by fundamentalism." Read it here.
Mormons are not true Christians, Sullivan concludes, but that's not even their biggest problem. Their biggest problem, in Sullivan's eyes, is the church's track record on race relations and denying blacks the priesthood until 1978.
Also, Sullivan discovers, Mormons wear funny underpants.) He even posts photos.
In the age of terrorism, North Korea nukes and $9 trillion in debt, a presidential candidate is judged by his underwear. Can you imagine the campaign ads? "Vote McCain. He wears boxers." Could someone's drawers be Swiftboated?
Of course, Sullivan says, Romney's faith doesn't matter to him, as the previous three days worth of posts clearly show.
Maybe it doesn't matter to Sullivan, but it seems to reflect the popular perception of Mormons and the fact that it's not just the illiterate or ignorant who have uncertainty about the faith before they buy into the idea of a Mormon president. And the questions that people have about Mormons don't have easy, quick answers.
Romney's got a few months to come up with some good answers if he is going to be a legitimate contender.
Not surprisingly, not everyone is taking kindly to Sullivan's attentions. See some samples here, here, here ... and so many more.
I do know one thing: I'm totally sending missionaries to Sully's apartment.
-- Robert Gehrke
Sullivan's Romney discovery came Wednesday, when The Rasmussen Report released a new poll that said 43 percent of voters would not consider voting for a Mormon. More intriguing to Sullivan was Romney's numbers among evangelical Christians, 53 percent of whom said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon. Writes Sullivan: "So this emerges as a delicious irony: a candidacy made possible by sectarian politics could subsequently be made impossible by the same forces. I'm sorry if I have little sympathy for Romney's plight. Live by fundamentalism; die by fundamentalism." Read it here.
Mormons are not true Christians, Sullivan concludes, but that's not even their biggest problem. Their biggest problem, in Sullivan's eyes, is the church's track record on race relations and denying blacks the priesthood until 1978.
Also, Sullivan discovers, Mormons wear funny underpants.) He even posts photos.
In the age of terrorism, North Korea nukes and $9 trillion in debt, a presidential candidate is judged by his underwear. Can you imagine the campaign ads? "Vote McCain. He wears boxers." Could someone's drawers be Swiftboated?
Of course, Sullivan says, Romney's faith doesn't matter to him, as the previous three days worth of posts clearly show.
Maybe it doesn't matter to Sullivan, but it seems to reflect the popular perception of Mormons and the fact that it's not just the illiterate or ignorant who have uncertainty about the faith before they buy into the idea of a Mormon president. And the questions that people have about Mormons don't have easy, quick answers.
Romney's got a few months to come up with some good answers if he is going to be a legitimate contender.
Not surprisingly, not everyone is taking kindly to Sullivan's attentions. See some samples here, here, here ... and so many more.
I do know one thing: I'm totally sending missionaries to Sully's apartment.
-- Robert Gehrke
5:32 PM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home