Mitt Romney: America's Next President?

In a conversation I had recently with a member of the LDS (Latter-Day Saints - a.k.a. "mormon") church, the girl I was speaking with suddenly became very serious. She looked me straight in the eyes and said with surprising confidence "I know who the next president will be." While she didn't disclose the name of the candidate she was referring to, the context of the conversation we were having, dominantly religious, made the implication clear.

Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and now a semi-dominant candidate for the G.O.P. presidential nomination, has earned much of his popularity, as well as criticism, from his religious stance. As a member of the LDS church, he represents conservative values and, in the eyes of fellow church members, LDS representation in the nation's capital. Is the church's brazen confidence in Romney warranted? In polls of G.O.P. voters, Romney would appear to be steadily maintaining his standing between 3rd and 5th place in the race for the Republican nomination. While considering this things may be looking a little bleak for Romney, the public opinion may shift. He is almost guaranteed the support of the LDS church, a relatively impressive chunk of the U.S. population (as of 2002, mormons made up approx. 2% of the U.S. population). With at least 2 percent of the vote practically handed to him, Romney is bound to continue to build support and may eventually become a more formiddable threat to the prominent G.O.P. candidates such as Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson. Will Mitt Romney be the nation's next president? It is not completely out of the question, especially with the enormous financial backing available to him (he raised $23 million in the first quarter, more than any other G.O.P. candidate). Perhaps the better question is "should Mitt Romney be the nation's next president?"

While Romney's mantra throughout his campaign thus far has been that voters should not consider his religion when voting, he also continually seeks, and receives, strong support from his church. The fact of the matter is, religion should NOT be a part of the voters' decisions. In my humble opinion, Romney is an expert at speaking out of both sides of his mouth. I fear that if Romney is elected, it will be because of his religious stance... a point which has been largely undisputed by LDS church members, stating they will vote for Romney because of his membership in the church. If you as a voter wish that Romney be elected, then by all means vote for him. But NOT because of his religious stance. I would implore you to choose which candidate you support based upon political stances, not religious biases (whether for OR against religion). Religion is of course a good indicator of moral perspective, but should only be considered as one of many factors.

Does this mean politicians with religious affiliations shouldn't be president? Of course not! As a Christian myself, I would gladly vote for a Christian candidate, but not simply because he or she is a Christian. I would also encourage members of the LDS church to vote for Romney if they agree with him politically, but NEVER because he is a Latter-Day Saint. Likewise, I am confident that many Democratic voters will vote in favor of Sen. Hilary Clinton, but I also know that a large majority will not do so because they completely agree with her politics, but instead many feminists will vote for Clinton because she is a woman and they are "ready for change". This is a foolish reason to vote for any candidate and these voters will have no one to blame but themselves if they later discover that Clinton varies drastically from their views on key issues.