Romney's Mormonism

We are told that Mitt Romney is going to address the issue of his Mormon faith this Thursday. There was probably no way for Romney to avoid this at some point, so it will be interesting to see what he has to say. But it really shouldn't matter, as Richard Cohen rightly argues in the Washington Post. Cohen notes that on Sunday morning Mike Huckabee was asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulis whether Romney was a Christian. Huckabee smiled and punted. Shame on him, Cohen says:

It is absurd that Romney feels compelled to deliver a speech defending his beliefs and that Huckabee does not have to explain how, in this day and age, he does not believe in evolution. But it is singularly appropriate that Romney's speech be delivered at the Bush library. For it is the 41st president's underachieving son who put such emphasis on religious belief -- and has shown us all, with his appalling record, that faith is no substitute for thought. A mind honed on the whetstone of doubt might have kept us out of Iraq.

The Republican presidential field has some feeble minds and some dangerous ones as well, but none has done as much damage as Huckabee has. Religion does not belong in the political arena. It does not lend itself to compromise. It is about belief, not reason, and is ordinarily immutable. Romney is a shifty fellow, but he will always be a Mormon, and it will never make a difference. Should he become president, he will still light the national Christmas tree and pardon the Thanksgiving turkey and host the Easter egg roll on the White House lawn.

I might quibble a bit with his comment that faith is about belief and not reason. I disagree. But we have had entirely too much talk about religion from our political candidates. We have learned that you can be a person of faith and be a disaster as President. There are far more important qualifications.