First, I'll tell you my predictions of what effect a Romney presidency will have on the reputation of the entire Mormon "community" in the USA, as I told several LDS co-workers today.
95% of American blacks voted for Obama. Twenty or a hundred years from now, history and people WILL NOT blame American blacks for voting for Obama, because they are "... fill-in-the-blank ..." and they could not have possibly known better.
95% or more of Mormons will vote for Romney. Twenty or a hundred years from now, history and people WILL STILL blame American Mormons for whatever damage he causes, and for his preventing the reversal of the accumulated Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush damages to the USA as a Constitutional republic. Mormons, partly because they are perceived as reasonably well educated, collectively, and because they all know damn well that Romney is devoid of any conservative principles, will forever and ever be associated with Romney's record as president.
Yes, we all know about that prophecy thing, (that some Mormon will save the USA, or something like that), and Romney has about as much chance of living up to it as Barry Odinga. And, oops, that prophecy comes with a HUGE DISCLAIMER: ("... if it is to be saved."), or something like that.
Everyone I know (at least those I consider human) will be voting against Obama, and that means Romney will get our vote. We'll do whatever we can to pressure him toward the right, but his entire life story is one of crony communism; i.e. stealing from others, and redistributing the spoils to himself and his cronies.
Romney's behavior and that of his supporters during this primary season has only reinforced the charges that the corruption and crony communism will continue if he is elected.
Been hanging out over at Democratic Underground again meadsjn?
Romney knows better than anyone that his Presidency will be the most consequential reflection ever on the legitimacy of the Mormon faith. This gives him every incentive to seek to be perceived as a successful President by the American people as a whole.
“Yes, we all know about that prophecy thing, (that some Mormon will save the USA, or something like that)...”
What you are referring to is something the church has denounced as a fake. There are a number of second hand accounts of Joseph Smith saying something along the lines of the brethren of the Church being instrumental in preserving the constitution in some unspecified way, but no first hand account so we don’t know exactly what he said. None of the second hand accounts however talk in terms of one single Mormon doing this, only of the church as a whole so trying to link it to Romney is invalid.