'Pres. Romney' sounds good to many

4 evangelicals enthused"

By Suzanne Struglinski
Deseret Morning News
Published: Saturday, Nov. 18, 2006 10:52 p.m. MST
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WASHINGTON — Four Christian evangelicals have a mission to convince skeptics that while Mitt Romney may be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he should still be their pick for president in the 2008 election.

Writers of the blog EvangelicalsforMitt.org go into great detail about Romney's political career and why he should be the no-brainer choice for "people of faith" in the next election.

"We are looking for a president, not a pastor or a priest," said David French, one of the site's co-founders. He said he may not agree with all tenets of Mormonism, but that's not what matters for the presidency.

The blog is but one piece of evidence that a Romney candidacy could bring a religious undertone to the next presidential race.

As some pundits discuss whether America is ready for a woman president, should Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., run, or a black president with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the Republicans' Christian base will ponder if they should try to put a Mormon in the White House.

French said there is "not a glimmer of daylight" between Romney and evangelical Christians on issues such as family, abortion, gay marriage and having a firm belief in religion. The doctrinal differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity, such as acceptance of the Book of Mormon as scripture comparable to the Bible, do not belong in the presidential arena, he said.

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Nancy French, David's wife and a co-founder of the blog, said Romney is not a "one-note social conservative" who is just against abortion or gay marriage. She said his faith shows that he is not pandering but has a deeply held belief on issues that matches that of evangelicals.

She also runs the blog Tennesseans for Mitt (tnformitt.blogspot.com) and is a contributor to AmericansforMitt.com.

"From what I can tell, he's got it all wrapped up in a package that is also not hard on the eyes," Nancy French said. "His Mormonism is not something that should disqualify him."

Differences/similarities

Evangelical Christians do not belong to a single denomination; rather, the term is used to define a cross-section of Christians from a variety of Protestant churches. David French defines evangelicals as those who believe the Bible is flawless, the true word of God, which should be read and applied to daily life.

He said an evangelical will think about what the words of the Bible mean, rather than if the words in the Bible are true.

"So much of it comes down to what you believe about the Bible," French said, which can make it hard for evangelicals to vote for a candidate who follows the Book of Mormon as well.

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