Mitt Romney Quits: How it Went Wrong

Mitt Romney was a big name around here in Mormon country; he was a man who could do no wrong. Our local evening news followed his campaign closely, and the Mormon crowds cheered with each new foothold that Mitt made toward achieving the presidency.

Members of the Church-Of-The-Latter-Day-Saints, and non-members alike, were wondering what would really happen if our country were suddenly run by a strong member of this religious organization, an organization that is so deeply rooted in church confidentiality, and oriented towards male dominated rights.

At the start of his campaign, Mitt Romney dodged questions about his religion as it related to his plans for the White House. In my opinion, this was the biggest mistake that he could have made with his campaign.

From a Fox News interview on May, 8, 2007: "No. I think there are differences between different faiths in this country. And there will be battles between different religions." Statements like this Romney quote were widely circulated both in traditional media, and on the internet; they left people uneasy.

While it's true that Mitt Romney once declared, "I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause and no one interest" [Dec. 7, 2007, Dallas News] The damage was already done early on in the campaign. Statements like this stoked imaginations, and left obvious questions trailing in the wake. Was this a man of faith claiming that he would happily go against his chosen faith for political reasons?

Romney's campaign started to fall apart in Iowa, and other strong bible-belt states. In that area of the country, many consider Mormonism as a cult religion. As Romney started losing his position in the poles, the Huckabee campaign stepped in with ads playing on the bible-belt concerns. "Faith doesn't just influence me," Huckabee says on camera, "it really defines me." The ad then hails Huckabee as a "Christian leader." [Dec. 7, 2007, NRO]