The Salt Lake Tribune, the newspaper from the state that represents the epicenter of Mormonism and the Mormon religion, takes a blowtorch to Romney’s character by calling him a “shape-shifting” candidate who does not deserve the keys to the Oval Office.
“The president has earned a second term. Romney, in whatever guise, does not deserve a first,” the newspaper’s editorial board stated.
Ouch. That has to sting something awful to have your home base and state (even though Romney was raised in suburban Detroit) put you on blast like that in front of the entire nation. Makes you wonder what Romney did to earn the wrath of the Mormon church and/or the most influential newspaper in Utah. But, the newspaper has said what many have been uttering for the past several months about the opportunistic Republican candidate.
Here’s how the Tribune characterizes Romney and his qualifications for White House occupation:
“Nowhere has Mitt Romney’s pursuit of the presidency been more warmly welcomed or closely followed than here in Utah. The Republican nominee’s political and religious pedigrees, his adeptly bipartisan governorship of a Democratic state, and his head for business and the bottom line all inspire admiration and hope in our largely Mormon, Republican, business-friendly state.
But it was Romney’s singular role in rescuing Utah’s organization of the 2002 Olympics from a cesspool of scandal, and his oversight of the most successful Winter Games on record, that make him the Beehive State’s favorite adopted son. After all, Romney managed to save the state from ignominy, turning the extravaganza into a showcase for the matchless landscapes, volunteerism and efficiency that told the world what is best and most beautiful about Utah and its people.
In short, this is the Mitt Romney we knew, or thought we knew, as one of us.
Sadly, it is not the only Romney, as his campaign for the White House has made abundantly clear, first in his servile courtship of the tea party in order to win the nomination, and now as the party’s shape-shifting nominee. From his embrace of the party’s radical right wing, to subsequent portrayals of himself as a moderate champion of the middle class, Romney has raised the most frequently asked question of the campaign: “Who is this guy, really, and what in the world does he truly believe?”
The evidence suggests no clear answer, or at least one that would survive Romney’s next speech or sound bite. Politicians routinely tailor their words to suit an audience. Romney, though, is shameless, lavishing vastly diverse audiences with words, any words, they would trade their votes to hear.”
