Am I the only one who takes offense at this attempt to have it both ways by Richard Cohen?

What could be called "The Huckabee Moment" occurred Sunday morning when ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked the former Arkansas governor, suddenly and ominously the front-runner in Iowa's GOP contest, whether Mitt Romney is a Christian. Mike Huckabee knew precisely what was being asked of him, and he also knew, because he is a preacher, what the right -- not the clever, mind you -- answer should be. But Huckabee merely smiled that wonderful smile of his and punted. This, with apologies to George W. Bush, is the soft demagoguery of low expectations.

Until just recently, the expectations have indeed been low for Huckabee. He is more famous for losing more than 100 pounds than for any towering political accomplishment. But he is an ordained Baptist minister, and Romney is a Mormon -- a member of a church that some conservative Christians consider heretical. Huckabee has presented himself as the un-Mormon.

Pardon me for saying so, but that is the chief difference between the two. On about all the social issues you can name -- abortion, stem cells, gun control -- Huckabee and Romney are in sync. So their religious differences are not about morality. They are about belief -- religious belief, precisely the issue that is not supposed to matter in this country. Huckabee, though, clearly thinks it ought to.

Now hold on here, Richard. You insist that religious belief is not supposed to matter in a political race in this country. And yet you take Huckabee to task for not passing theological judgment upon Mitt Romney and his religious faith. How can those two positions possibly be reconciled? And more to the point, would any answer given by Mike Huckabee have satisfied you. Do you mean to tell me that had Huckabee answered "No, Mitt Romney is not a Christian," you would have sheered him for forthrightly proclaiming his religious belief about the nature of the Mormon faith? If he had said "Yes, Mitt Romney is a Christian," am I expected to believe that you would not be making a big deal about his breaking with Southern Baptist Convention and many other conservative religious groups on the status of the LDS Church, with its unique, distinctive beliefs? In other words, how can you seriously tell us that belief does not matter and then excoriate Huckabee for not formally stating his religious belief on a Sunday morning news show.

Now please understand that i think it is high time that Mitt Romney speaks out about the issue of religious tolerance. I expect that Thursday's speech will be an important one. But in no way can it or should it be a determining factor in the theological debate over the question of whether or not Mormonism is or is not a Christian faith. That gets into an entirely different realm.

But interestingly enough, Cohen's language of religious tolerance is belied by his repeated slams directed at conservative Christians who express their faith in a public manner. You know, the comment about Huckabee's "obdurate and narrow-minded religious beliefs" and the slam about Huckabee's position on evolution. What's more, Cohen dares to pass the judgment that Huckabee is not a good Christian. I suppose we should ask who died and made this Jewish columnist Pope, with the wherewithal to determine the validity of someone's Christian faith.

Posted by: Greg at 11:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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