A Mormon in the White House, by Hugh Hewitt : on Principles & Values


Romney is the 5th Mormon to run for President

Mitt Romney’s presidential bid is not the first time a Mormon has sought the presidency--it is the fifth such try. And it really isn’t Mitt Romney’s first presidential campaign. It’s his third.

The founding prophet of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, declared his candidacy for the presidency in 1844. Mitt Romney’s father, Michigan governor George Romney, ran a full-scale campaign for the presidency in 1967-68. Three years earlier, George Romney was nominated at the 1964 convention as a “favorite son“ candidate, with his teenage son Mitt on the convention floor supporting him. Arizona Democratic Congressman Mo Udall, a Mormon, made a run in 1976. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, another Mormon, threw his hat into the ring against the Bush machine in 2000.

In only one of these races did the Mormon candidate come close to the nomination--George Romney’s 1968 run. Romney was actually the GOP frontrunner for most of 1967, and with that status, his faith became a topic for a delicate sort of scrutiny.

Source: A Mormon in the White House, by Hugh Hewitt, p. 21-23 Mar 12, 2007

George Romney never questioned on Mormonism during 1968 race

Everyone who follows Romney is probably sentenced to read scores of comparison pieces between ‘68 and ‘08, but the premise is absurd, even as the comparisons between the 1992 and 2000 presidential campaigns of Bush 41 and Bush 43 are absurd--and those were only 8 years apart.

There are a couple of lessons in George Romney’s campaign, but none unique to it: Gaffes can kill campaigns. Allies can switch sides. Difficult wars make for difficult interviews. What George Romney’s campaign didn’t have to deal with, though, was religious bigotry. The elder Romney just didn’t last long enough to see anyone try to raise a “Mormon objection” to his qualifications.

One veteran of the George Romney effort sent Mitt Romney an analysis of why George’s campaign floundered--an assessment that included 20 reasons why he lost. “One of them was not because he was a Mormon or people didn’t understand the Mormon Church or whatever,” Romney underscored.

Source: A Mormon in the White House, by Hugh Hewitt, p. 42-43 Mar 12, 2007

Salvaged Olympic games from financial and scandal disaster

The Games’ financial books were a disaster. The marketing had crashed. The scandal revelations kept coming. The costs kept accumulating. If he had not pulled it off, Romney could have walked away unblemished saying, “I tried, but no one but God can resurrect the dead.” But he did pull it off. His accomplishment grew even more significant because the Salt Lake City games were held against the backdrop of 9/11. The Games also proceeded under the very real fear of another terrorist attack, and with unprecedented security because of the still deeply felt vulnerability that lingered in the country.

The significance of Romney’s Olympic stewardship for Romney’s presidential bid is much more in the stories he tells of the Games than in the awful numbers he and his colleagues confronted and reversed. Romney has got a box of business stories, but they cannot compare with the planning for the torch relay, or the tale of tempting the Today Show with a promise of a Romney run on the skeleton sled.

Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p. 68-69 Mar 12, 2007

Constitution is explicit: no religious test for presidency

Romney should ask his fellow candidates for clear statements regarding the dishonorability of voting against a candidate on the basis of religious belief. This is the “Article VI” argument, and it is a powerful one. The third clause of Article VI of the Constitution bars a “religious test” for public office. This is an obscure portion of the Constitution, but one which will receive a lot of attention over the next year and a half as Romney’s Mormon faith receives scrutiny.
Article VI, Clause 3
.no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification in any Office or public Trust under the United States.
“I think it is clear that the way the field of candidates for president is shaping up, Romney is going to be the candidate whose values most closely approximate those of evangelical Christians,” said one pundit. He goes on to say that he sees bigotry in the anti-Mormon assault on Romney.
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.235&246 Mar 12, 2007

  • The above quotations are from A Mormon in the White House?
    10 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney,     by Hugh Hewitt .
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