At first I dreaded Romney's speech. Early in the week I had read and heard glimmerings of his intent to stake his heritage with John Fitzgerald Kennedy by separating his religion from his politics. I kept thinking "Oh dear, this is going to be embarrassing because Mitt is no Jack Kennedy." But it wasn't embarrassing. I think Mr. Romney has raised the bar in American politics and may have taught the evangelicals, no, all of us, a thing or two.
We know he has flip-flopped here and there. We also know he's politically savvy and pretty damn smooth. We know he's good looking. But did we know he could engage us in a national discussion that we've needed to have for a long time?
He has ostensibly stepped aside from the usual political parlance to give us a brush-up lesson in American History, the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, church and state. He has placed his religion in the grand and safe context of the original lofty principles of the United States of America. How can we fault him on this? He comes out smelling like a rose. Maybe like a Rose Garden?
I remember my mother in front of the TV in 1968, admiring Mitt's father George Romney when he ran for President. She thought he was handsome. I could see she was charmed. She laughed sympathetically about George's claim that he had been brainwashed into supporting the Vietnam War. She loved his flipflopping in a vaguely sensual way. I worried my father would get home early and see us, whiskey sours in hand, watching clips of George on the Merv Griffin show. I couldn't let him see those stars shining in mom's eyes for another man!
And now I'm doing it! The lights are on in my eyes for Mitt, though I know now that I may flipflop at any time. And that it's ok, and safe, to feel a little excited about a Romney.
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