A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney

In “A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every Conservative Should Know about Mitt Romney,” radio host and Republican strategist Hugh Hewitt tackles two main questions: first, does Mitt Romney, who is at this point still a relatively obscure blue-state governor, have the “right stuff” to be president? And if the answer to the first question is yes — and most Republicans believe that answer is yes — will Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith nevertheless disqualify him from being the Republican nominee for president?

Hewitt relies on exclusive interviews with the governor, his family, and closest associates, along with candid conversations with some of the country’s shrewdest political observers and Christian leaders to make a sober and thorough assessment of Romney’s viability as a Republican presidential nominee. He details Romney’s unusual faith story; introduces you to his family; explains why 2008 would not be Romney’s first presidential race; and above all, explains what Mitt Romney believes and what he has done. He paints a picture of a serious, knowledgeable, pro-life candidate who has defended traditional marriage, and has performed ably as a conservative governor of the liberal haven of Massachusetts.

In 2008, the GOP will be looking for a candidate who not only understands the threat we face, but also the country that faces it, and who values our nation’s deep traditions and love of family. We’ll be looking for a candidate who will fight for all of those traditions and all of those families with an eye on the Constitution and our American values. Mitt Romney’s campaign may sink. But if the country gets the debate and the campaign it deserves in the middle of this deadly conflict, the votes will be cast on the basis of the ability to lead, and to lead as an American would lead — as a Lincoln, a Truman, an FDR or a Reagan led: with optimism and purpose, and a certain conviction of the goodness of the country and the courage and resolve of its people. And that leader, says Hugh Hewitt, is Mitt Romney.

Hewitt on Romney:

• What Romney identified as the biggest failure of the Clinton Administration, which has had the most lasting detrimental impact on America
• McCain, Giuliani, Jeb Bush: their key weaknesses that make each unelectable – and that Mitt Romney doesn’t share
• Romney’s rival McCain: how he squandered a once-in-a-generation chance to repair America’s badly broken judicial confirmation process
• Why judicial selection is the Achilles heel of Romney rival Rudolph Giuliani
• Why the 2008 presidential campaign is in many respects unprecedented – and why not even Hillary has a free ride through the primaries
• Romney’s father: governor, presidential candidate, patriot, family man — plus the inside story of how his presidential candidacy was sabotaged by the liberal media
• Romney’s Salt Lake City Olympic Games: how he succeeded in presenting them under the very real fear of another terrorist attack, and with unprecedented security (plus, the significance of Romney’s Olympic stewardship for Romney’s presidential bid)
• How Romney battled against his state’s highest court and its overwhelmingly Democratic legislature to return marriage to its traditional definition – and other key reasons why a Romney candidacy will appeal to pro-marriage activists
• Why a marriage amendment is a vital and necessary aspect of our constitutional democracy, not an aberration
• Romney’s experience as a husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather – and why they will be appealing to large segments of the American electorate
• Mitt Romney: smart enough, and wealthy enough, to beat Hillary and her deep-pocketed friends on the far left, beginning with George Soros
• Cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, and euthanasia: how these issues have gained center stage in American politics, and could be decisive in 2008 in a way that will work to Romney’s advantage
• Why in 2008 many in the pro-life movement will look for candidates willing to advocate ways to protect unborn life, even in its earliest form – and why Romney’s record in Massachusetts will appeal to such activists
• Romney’s views on the stem cell debate: at odds with the President Bush’s more restrictive position, but still significantly more protective of the dignity of the unborn embryonic life than all of the Democrats’ positions — and most of the Republicans’
• Romney’s wife Ann: the strengths she would bring to a Romney presidential candidacy
• How Romney has made clear that he is serious about the war against Islamist fascism, and unafraid to declare as much
• Identifying and motivating the “political base” for a particular candidate: it’s a specialized talent, and Romney has brought on board the best in the business presently available to do just that
• The concerted effort today to discredit tens of millions of Americans because of their views on the protection of the unborn, the central role of marriage between a man and a woman in the preservation of the family and the evil of human cloning – and how this effort has already backfired when the Left tried to discredit Mitt Romney
• The revolutionary theme that will no doubt be a key part of Romney’s presidential campaign
• Boston’s disaster-prone Big Dig: how Romney’s response to a tragedy and a public safety crisis illustrates how he can be expected to act as president when the inevitable crisis arises: to demand authority and to act, but only with the advice of the best experts available on the issue at hand
• Eight areas of Romney’s tenure as governor of Massachusetts that are relevant when considering a President Romney – including gay marriage and stem cell issues, judicial selection, budgeting, and taxes
• Romney’s major dilemma as a Mormon candidate – and how the mainstream media could unwittingly help Christian conservatives overcome their reservations about voting for a Mormon

Tags: A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney, Hugh Hewitt