who's Mitt Romney? >Mitt Romney's problem >Sep 28th 2006 >From The Economist print edition >Religious prejudice may yet undo the Republicans' latest favourite > >YOU can say what you want against American politics. You can call it >corrupt, vulgar, interminable, and boringly limited to two behemoth >parties. But you cannot accuse it of lacking in drama. The mid-term >elections are still a month away, but some of the most intriguing >action is taking place in the race for the presidency. Mitt Romney, >the governor of Massachusetts, is making a concerted bid to seize the >mantle as the leader of "the Republican wing of the Republican Party". > >Mr Romney is a scarily perfect presidential candidate. He has handsome >looks?a mixture of Ronald Reagan and JFK, according to fans?and >fearsome intelligence. He graduated from both Harvard Law School, cum >laude, and Harvard Business School in the top 5% of his class. He is a >Republican governor of liberal Taxachusetts, a sprig of a powerful >mid-western political dynasty, and is much admired as a businessman. >But Mitt has one big problem: Mormonism. Hence one of the liveliest >debates on the right: can a Mormon win the presidency? > >Two years before a presidential election might seem a bit soon for >such questions. But this is the age of the "permanent campaign". And >the Republicans have a habit of anointing their champion as early as >possible: George Bush had the nomination locked up by the late 1990s. >John McCain has made a good job of turning himself into the party's >heir presumptive. But now Mr Romney is mounting a powerful assault >from the right. > >On September 22nd he delighted 1,800 "values voters" gathered in >Washington, DC, with a barn-storming defence of traditional marriage >and patriotism. He has vocally defended Mr Bush's policies on the >interrogation of suspected terrorists, and suggested that the >authorities should spend more time monitoring mosques. For a growing >number of conservatives he is the answer to their prayers: a man who >can not only derail the McCain Express but also hold the White House >in 2008. > >Mr Romney's emergence as a conservative champion owes something to >luck. His two biggest rivals on the right have imploded: Bill Frist >because of his lacklustre performance as Senate majority leader, >George Allen because of his gaffe-ridden Senate campaign. But it owes >more to years of investment. Mr Romney has not only fought harder than >any other governor on "social issues", particularly gay marriage. He >has done so in the heart of enemy territory. > >Mr Romney won the governorship of a state where only 13% of the voters >are registered Republicans, and where the congressional delegation is >100% Democratic. And he succeeded in working with a legislature where >87% of the members represent the other party. When he was elected >governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he found a $3 billion budget >deficit; two years later he was running a surplus of more than $700m. > >His hallmark before his recent fire-breathing reincarnation was >pragmatism and competence. He founded Bain Capital, one of the >country's most successful venture-capital companies. He was at the >heart of two dramatic turnarounds, first of Bain & Co (which was on >the verge of going under when he was brought in as CEO) and then of >the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (which threatened to >collapse under the weight of bribery scandals and $400m-worth of >debt). As governor of Massachusetts, he produced an eye-catching >health-care reform that tries to use market mechanisms to solve the >most pressing problem, lack of coverage for the uninsured. > >Yet Mr Romney is a devoted Mormon?a former bishop, no less?at a time >when religion is playing a growing role in American politics. Opinion >polls suggest that anti-Mormon feeling is one of the most enduring >religious prejudices in America. An LATimes/Bloomberg poll in June >found that 37% of Americans would not vote for a Mormon presidential >candidate; other polls put the figure at 17%. > >Anti-Mormon feeling is particularly strong among Bible-believing >Christians, a vital part of the Republican base. Many evangelicals >regard Mormonism as nothing more than a cult: and a cult, moreover, >that is based not only on a false theology but also on a willingness >to tamper with the inerrant word of God that is the Bible. >Looking past Mormonism > >So will the whiz-kid governor be doomed by the Book of Mormon? Not >necessarily. That 37% is certainly not an encouraging figure. But back >in 1960 35% of people told pollsters that they would have qualms about >voting for a Catholic, and in that year a Catholic reached the White >House. Today, 21% of people say they would have qualms about voting >for an evangelical; time may tell differently. For most voters, >religion is just one factor among many that they consider: there is a >difference between rejecting a generic Mormon and rejecting a smooth >operator with a plan for universal health insurance. > >As for evangelical Christians, they can be a remarkably pragmatic >bunch. They have spent the past few decades building alliances with >"people of faith" whom they once regarded as spawn of the devil. And >they know a winner when they see one: they happily forgave Reagan his >divorce and eccentric theological views. In an ideal world they might >prefer a more orthodox man of faith. But if it comes to a choice >between Mr Romney and a maverick like Mr McCain or an avowed social >liberal like Rudy Giuliani, they may be willing to swallow the Book of >Mormon. > >Mr Romney's opponents may well find other weaknesses to exploit. He is >a somewhat bloodless candidate, a conservative of the head rather than >the heart, and approaches presidential politics rather like a Harvard >Business School case study. First, prove that he can run a state; then >lock up the conservative base; then pivot back to the centre . But for >the moment at least it seems that conservative Republicans have found >their man for 2008.
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