Steve Young (and his Botox) tell it like it is

Mitt Romney receives a lot of criticism for his campaign's choice to stay quiet about the Church and its doctrines. Huckabee, on the other hand, doesn't mind screaming his evangelism at every turn, which gives him some momentum and has the added benefit of making Mitt Romney look even more stoic. After General Conference in October, and Elder Ballard's and Elder Holland's talks in particular, I think I at least understand Mitt's choice in part: he doesn't want to be a spokesman; he doesn't want his words to be taken as Church doctrine. I think he's well-spoken enough (or at least cryptic enough) that there's not really too much danger in him saying something really stupid, but then again, in a moment of confrontation or debate, it might be difficult to explain something that's hard to make clear even in an ideal environment.* And his little war with Huckabee (and the entire press corps, it seems) is definitely not an ideal environment.

In the drama of public perception, though, I think it's become a damaging choice. Huckabee's religion comes across as very personal; no doubt Mitt's personal testimony runs at least as deep as Huckabee's, yet nobody can see that. He's Mr. Corporate Politician, "not running as a Mormon," which might feel true to people ambivalent about the Church, but to the haters? I think neither persona is doing much good for people who already think Mormons aren't Christian like themselves.

It's not clear how the Church leaders feel about Mitt Romney downplaying his personal beliefs, either for the reasons I've already said, or for reasons of seeking broader Christian appeal. But I do appreciate that the Church PR department is responding in appropriate ways and trying to educate the public. I don't know how many people are listening, but this movie (download) is really helpful and narrated by Steve Young, which was a good choice, unfortunate outfit notwithstanding.



*Sweet mercy, now it's all over YouTube. Here's the exchange:

Natalie Jacobsen: "Should God speak to you, and ask you to do something that might be in conflict with your duties as president, or should He speak to your prophet who would speak to you, how would you make that decision, how would you handle that?"

Romney laughs and then replies, "Well, I don't recall God speaking to me. I, I don't recall God speaking to anyone since, uh, Moses and the [burning] bush, or perhaps some others, but, but I don't have that frequent of communication."

I'm reading things like "he must not be a good Mormon because if he was, he would believe that Joseph Smith talked to God and that He talks to Gordon B. Hinckley." True, but again, it seems like the "not running as a Mormon" choice - he can't win from either side. Politically, that answer is really dodgy - a way to bring it back to the Bible and general Christianity, away from specific Mormon doctrine but still qualify it at the end there ("perhaps some others"). As a Mormon whose faith is clearly on trial, though, it's a confusing answer at best, apostate at worst. If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt (and I do), it's a horrible position to be in - neither answer is satisfying to anyone. People who want the country run by God don't think a Mormon can take care of business in that regard, and people who don't want the country run by God definitely don't want a Mormon, even one who is trying to act all nonchalant about it. He must have known it would be bad, hence the party line, but this is hard to watch.