Brody File Reaction to Romney's Faith Speech
December 6, 2007
Someone wake me up! I could have sworn this was December 2007. But today in College Station, Texas, as I watched Mitt Romney deliver his long awaited faith speech with American flags draped behind him, it felt like January 2009.
The speech was sweeping, lofty and presidential. He looked natural and spoke passionately. Mitt Romney didn't just look like a President today. He sounded and behaved like one too. It's not often a presidential candidate gets the limelight all to himself. But such was the case Thursday.
Many pundits will pick up on the religious liberty theme and the religious freedom theme. Yes, those were very important. But the line that stood out to me was the following -twenty words to be exact:
"Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it."
You see, with that line, Mitt Romney became human. Whether you believe him or not isn't the point. The line comes off like someone who cares more about his principles and what he believes rather than the highest office in the land. He was putting politics aside and the line served him well.
As far as how this speech will play with Evangelicals, it's hard to argue that this speech didn't help. Of course it did. The following lines were important:
"There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths."
That's as far as he would go, but the fact that he acknowledged that his Church's beliefs are different will probably satisfy some. Listen, the Evangelicals who believe Mormonism is a cult won't change their mind no matter what. Romney could give fifty speeches and it wouldn't matter. But for Evangelicals who may have some concerns, but haven't ruled out a Mitt Romney presidency - that part of the speech was probably comforting.
I'm sure what was also comforting to Evangelicals was this part:
"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.
"When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. A President must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."
There were some other great lines, but I'll come back in future blogs to revisit them.
Now to the political impact: This speech really looked at the big picture. You can't accuse Romney of pandering to Evangelicals in Iowa, that's for sure. There was no 'suck up' whatsoever. Romney went for the principled high crowd rather than getting down in the weeds about his faith.
So let's talk about the political reality here. By not going down the doctrinal road on the Mormon/Evangelical issue, he could lose favor in Iowa and South Carolina among Evangelicals. But clearly the Romney campaign believes his message will play well in New Hampshire and those key February 5th states. And the fact that he came across as very presidential Thursday will probably give him a boost in Iowa and South Carolina anyway.
Having said all that, while the political ramifications are part of the equation, you really got the sense that today was about something loftier, something even more important. Because if Romney really wanted to make a concerted pitch to Evangelicals in Iowa, he would have played to them more. He didn't. Instead, he came off looking presidential. It felt like a pre-inaugural speech or a State of the Union with faith as the main topic.
This was very personal for Mitt Romney. He wrote the speech himself. You knew that when he got into this race he was going to have to deliver a speech like this. The fact that the speech is all over now must be a huge relief. I was in the room and you could feel the release of tension afterwards as his family came on stage. These were not 'canned' hugs. These were heartfelt hugs with his sons and supporters and the caption could read, "What a relief".
Bottom line: With an American President introducing him, American flags behind him, family hugs on stage and a speech written by him that was delivered from his heart, this day could indeed turn out to be the beginning of Mitt Romney's ascension to the Presidency. All the candidates wish they could capture a moment like this. But they aren't Mormon. In that way, maybe, in a way, Romney's Mormonism could actually end up helping him rather than hurting him.
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