Mitt Romney for president?

Students need to vote on credentials other than religion

House Editorial: Approved by the majority of Scroll Editorial Board

• Aaron Benson / Sports Editor
• scrollopinion@byui.edu

And the next president of the United States is… a Mormon?

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is poised to begin a run at the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election.

So what does that mean for the members of the Church?

Thus far, the main issue that has followed Romney through the rumors and beginnings of a presidential race has been his faith. The media wants to know just how being a Mormon will affect Romney in his decision-making, and it seems the voters want to know as well.

Rasmussen Reports asked 1,000 voters in November of last year if they would ever consider voting for a Mormon presidential candidate. Forty-three percent said no, and 19 percent were not sure.

So 43 percent of the country won’t vote for Romney because he’s Mormon, despite his impressive record of leadership and decision-making. That seems like a clear-cut case of religious prejudice, or bigotry, but Jacob Weisberg of Slate Magazine thinks differently.

Objecting to someone because of his religious beliefs is not the same thing as prejudice based on religious heritage, race or gender, Weisberg wrote in December of last year. He refuses to vote for Romney because he can’t trust a man who believes in Joseph Smith as a prophet of God.

Though his comments about the Church may seem prejudiced, Weisberg raises an important question. Would it be any less prejudiced on the part of Church members to refuse to vote for the other candidates because they’re not members of the Church?

The Church has always encouraged its members to participate actively in government, but with one qualifier:

Individual Church members cannot represent or commit the Church [on political issues], but should nevertheless be anxiously engaged in good causes, using the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ as their constant guide, said President Spencer W. Kimball in 1978.

The problem is that the issue of Romney’s faith is not going to die, even should he become president. Every decision he makes will be cast in the light of his Church membership, so every decision will reflect somehow on the Church as an institution. Is that a pressure that Romney is ready to bear?

Mitt Romney seems to be a man well-prepared to run for president. He has an MBA and a law degree, both from Harvard, where he was named Baker Scholar in 1975.

Romney founded a successful investment company, Bain Capital, which helped companies like Staples, Sealy and Domino’s Pizza get their start.

In 1999, Romney was asked to head the Salt Lake Olympic Committee, which was suffering from bribery allegations and possible financial failure. Romney shook things up in the committee, and the Games ended up with a $100 million profit and a safe, successful event.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney helped erase a $3 billion budget deficit, which turned into a $1 billion surplus by 2005, the third year of his gubernatorial career. Romney helped lower the unemployment rate and established a new state scholarship system as well as a revolutionary health care system, all without raising taxes.

With his grace and acumen, Romney shows to be perhaps the most-qualified candidate for the presidency. Not because of his faith or his party, but his ability to organize and lead.

Many people who are familiar with Romney won’t be supporting him in his run for president, including many Massachusetts residents who feel that Romney used their state as a stepping-stone to a presidential nomination.

Even in Utah, Romney has many critics who find his politics a little too liberal. When he was running against Ted Kennedy for a Massachusetts seat in Congress, Romney reached out to the gay community and had a pro-choice view on abortion.

Romney now has converted to a pro-life stance on abortion and has been a vocal supporter of traditional marriage, even as governor of Massachusetts, the first state to allow gay marriage.

So, as the presidential elections approach and the races for nominations and elections become more intense, get to know Romney and the other candidates. Support him if you’d like, but not because he’s Mormon or because he’s Republican. Choose to support him or whomever you like because you believe, as President Brigham Young said, he (or she) is the man [or woman] who will sustain the principles of civil and religious liberty, who knows the most and who has the best heart and brain for a statesman.