Mitt Veils His Mormonism

In downplaying his Mormonism, Mitt Romney is a candidate “who seems to have no history, and, as a result, no heart,” argues Newsweek. When Mitt boasts of his “Judeo-Christian tradition” roots, calls Jesus his “personal savior”—not Mormon terms—and says he hasn’t “recently” performed peculiar rituals, he deepens his authenticity problem.

The truth is that Romney was a ward (equivalent to parish) bishop and a stake (diocese) president, and that he was responsible for marriage counseling and the distribution of charity to members. But Mitt learned in his failed Senate race to keep his religion quiet, and boast instead of business bona fides—a lesson that now threatens to sink him under a plastic appearance. (More Mitt Romney stories.)