The first 846 words were profoundly beautiful. There's something deeply touching that, in America, even a speech in which you leverage your faith for political gain and use devotion as a tool of division requires a lengthy preamble emphasizing that it is our Constitution, not our religion, which we hold in common and, in our politics, transcendent. But after that, Mitt Romney worst instincts reemerged. As his speech began, Romney eloquently explained that "I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith." But Mitt Romney is not only an American running for president. He is an opportunist running for president. And so, after taking the principled stand that the specifics of his faith were not relevant to his pursuit of the presidency, Romney spat upon the bright line he had just drawn, and proclaimed himself safely within the bounds of the dominant religious groups whose votes he desires. "There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked," he said. "What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind." I don't know whether Mitt Romney believes that or not. I don't really care. But I don't believe that. My beliefs, or lack thereof, are less broadly accepted. And Romney, by prominently proclaiming his fealty to traditional Christian doctrine, just said, essentially, that they are illegitimate. That they should be a source of debate. That even in speeches where you tell the American people that "a person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith," you must profess a default belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ.
