Friday, December 07, 2007

Hart on Romney's Speech

Darryl Hart weighs in.

Opening line: "If Thomas Jefferson is turning over in his grave today it is because he is doing cartwheels of delight." [JT: Interesting image: cartwheels in a coffin!]

Closing paragraph: "Rather than being faulted for squishy ecumenism, Romney should be credited for cleverness to figure out that the advocates of religion in public life have never been overly concerned about theological orthodoxy. In a subtle way, he was saying to American believers that if you’re going to make an issue of my Mormon faith, then you should likely reconsider your great admiration for the likes of Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. And although secularists may have felt that Romney excluded them from his considerations yesterday, his warning has as much salience for those who take inspiration from Martin Luther King, Jr. as those who listen to James Dobson. Practically everyone in America these days is willing to live with Jefferson’s solution. As long as religion comes out on the right side of political debate, by all means, let’s affirm it."