Posted on 02/05/2007 5:51:48 PM PST by coca-cola kid
Romney: It's politics over pulpit
By THOMAS BURR
February 4, 2007
In an old wooden general store on a backcountry New Hampshire highway, Mitt Romney said something that went unnoticed by the townspeople assembled to meet him. The fact that it didn't faze anyone is telling. Romney, in a crisp white shirt and tie, brushed past dust-coated cans and $8 bottles of syrup tapped from local maple trees during a quick campaign stop last week. The proprietors of Lowe's General Store, the fifth generation of the area's original mountain guides, wanted Romney to try their new Coke product. Romney happily accepted. Then he noticed the label.
"Ooh," Romney said, "I don't drink tea."
But an aide would drink it, Romney assured owner Lucille Lowe.
No one questioned why Romney wouldn't try the new green-tea drink, and the former Massachusetts governor plopped down a $20 bill to buy some beef jerky, another soda, a candy bar and the tea for the aide.
Lost on the townspeople was that Romney refused the tea because Mormon teaching forbids it. And no one seemed to worry that his Mormonism could imperil his presidential bid, as many political observers have said.
During a six-stop, one-day tour of New Hampshire, the state with the nation's first primary election in January, no one asked Romney if he really is a Mormon, if Mormons believe in Jesus Christ or how many wives he has.
Instead, they wanted to know about securing the borders, about Iraq, about taxes, and about why hospitals charge $2 for a single Band-Aid.
For Romney, whose role in leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City brought him national acclaim, those are the important questions. Americans want a faithful candidate, he said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, and not one from any specific faith.
"They want someone who believes in a creator, someone who believes in a greater purpose to life than just the here-and-now and the selfishness of their own life," he said. "But I don't think that the American people in the final analysis have shown that they care about the doctrinal differences between different faiths."
Between campaign stops, Romney, 59, talked about his faith, his personal goals and his bid for the White House.
He formed a presidential exploratory committee early in January and instantly became one of the leading contenders for the 2008 Republican nomination. He also became the most formidable Mormon to ever aspire to the White House.
Poll after poll has shown that Romney's faith may be his tallest hurdle. A sizable swath of Americans say they wouldn't even consider voting for a Mormon, a faith viewed as peculiar, odd or even cultish to some evangelical voters.
Romney, however, emphasizes that he shares the same beliefs as most voters. His surrogates and supporters have coined the phrase that they're not "voting for pastor, we're voting for president," but Romney says that doesn't mean his faith isn't at the center of who he is.
"I found people who are faithful in virtually any denomination to have the same core values, and by that I mean they love God; they love their fellow men and women and see them as children of the same creator; they love their country; they recognize a need to serve their community and to serve their fellow man; and they recognize their own weaknesses and try and improve on themselves," he said. "My faith ... has made me a better person, as other faiths have made other people better people."
Romney didn't mention his religion at any of his stops, but he never failed to talk about the Olympics.
Romney took over as head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee after a bribery scandal ousted his predecessors. In New Hampshire, he described how struck he was by the athletes' humility and pride, especially that of the Americans. And he recalled how Americans rejoiced when one of their own won a gold medal, and not just because that person was the best in the world.
"It's because they were proud to represent the country that's the hope of the world," Romney said.
He told the Tribune that running Bain Capital, a venture capital firm that made him a multimillionaire, taught him the leadership necessary to salvage the Games.
"I can tell you that the Olympic experience was the highlight of a professional career," he said. "And that's because there was no dissension with almost no exceptions, the whole community wanted to see the Games become successful and pulled together in a way I will never forget. Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal - everyone came to do whatever they could to host the world in a way that would be unforgettable, and they did."
Instead, they wanted to know about securing the borders, about Iraq, about taxes, and about why hospitals charge $2 for a single Band-Aid."
Wow....the actual voters are focusing on the real issues.
BUMP for MITT.
BTTT
Dead wrong.
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