Books: 'A Mormon in the White House?'

Hugh Hewitt, author of "A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney" was online Tuesday, April 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET to answer readers' questions about his book and the role religion plays in presidential campaigning.

The transcript follows.

Hewitt is the host of a daily nationally syndicated talk-radio show, a professor at Chapman University Law School, the executive editor of Townhall.com and one of the country's most widely read bloggers at HughHewitt.com. Hewitt is the author of eight previous books, including the New York Times bestseller "If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat," and served six years in the Reagan White House in a variety of positions.

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Washington, D.C.: What, in your view, were Romney's chief accomplishments as Massachusetts governor?

Hugh Hewitt: Romney accomplished quite a lot for a state in which 8 of 10 legislators are Democrats, including the initial balancing of the badly out of balance state budget, the health care insurance reform, the demand for control of the Big Dig audit following the death last year, and of course his defense of the state's lawmaking process against the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council's imposition of same-sex marriage on the Commonwealth.

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Lakewood, Ohio: Mr. Hewitt, I'm not conservative or a Republican, but I enjoy your show and Web site. I'm impressed with Mr. Romney so far and would consider voting for him. I do wonder, though, why questions about Mr. Romney's Mormon faith should be out of bounds. Conservatives have been arguing for a long time that religious faith matters and that it should be expressed more openly in public life. If that's the case, shouldn't we encourage more discourse, not less, about the religious beliefs of candidates? (And I say this as someone who would have no problem voting for an atheist for president.)

Hugh Hewitt: I don't think genuine curiosity about the LDS faith is "out of bounds." I wrote "A Mormon In The White House?" because of my curiosity about the LDS, which began in the mid-'90s when PBS sent me to Salt Lake City to do a show on the Mormons as part of the series I hosted, Searching for God in America.

But then --as should be the case now-- if I want to know about the LDS faith, I ask the church hierarchy, not candidates for office. We shouldn't ask Catholics about Fatima, or Orthodox about the schism with Rome etc. Too many questions about the LDS that I have seen directed at Romney have been thinly veiled attacks on him using his faith as a reason for the attack.

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Westbend, N.C.: Thanks Hugh. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is the son of a Presbyterian Minister, should he go ahead and remove himself now for consideration for the Republican nomination in 2012?

Hugh Hewitt: Of course not. Nor should Jim DeMint, whom I believe to be an Elder in the PCUSA or PCA, or any other American with a robust faith. Our three greatest presidents, though --Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln-- were not orthodox Christians, and we have never countenanced religious bigotry in the public square.

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Eatontown, N.J.: What sort of cash-on-hand can Romney be expected to have right now? I've heard his burn rate is pretty high.

Hugh Hewitt: I have "heard" the same thing and am pushing to get an answer but haven't been successful thus far. I noted on my blog yesterday, though, that Ronald Reagan's burn rate in 1979-1980 was very high, higher than John Connolly's in fact. If you have the resources, I think wise campaigns spend them at at increasing tempo. As I write in A Mormon In The White House?, the Romney fundraising effort is very, very sophisticated, and is just getting started, as is his on the ground organization effort in Iowa and New Hampshire. I also suspect that when the number of online donations made at MittRomney.com is revealed, it will set the pace for online efforts by first timers. (Senator McCain and Senator Clinton have significant initial advantages with lists, but that will narrow quickly.)

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Orlando: When do you think it would be best for Romney to address his Mormonism, if at all?

Hugh Hewitt: I think the reason he agreed to the series of interviews with me with everything fair game and everything on the record is that there is one place where he can point to and say "asked and answered." In the old media age, JFK could go to Houston and give his speech, or George Romney to the protestant pastors in Salt Lake City and make one speech that dealt with the issue, but that is no longer possible if only because the media won't play along and will keep asking the same questions over and over again. He may yet speak to his faith in many other settings, but I suspect he will direct people to previous interviews, including those he granted to me, as a way of indicating the issue has already been explored.

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Greensboro, N.C.: I saw a clip on the news of Mitt being heckled about his faith during a town hall meeting. How frequently does this (or similar situations) happen, and how does he usually respond? How do you think he should respond as the campaign progresses?

Hugh Hewitt: I think you may be referring to the South Carolina incident, which was widely publicized, though the heckler's past associations with the McCain campaign were not. (She was not, at the time of the heckling, on the McCain payroll.)

I think Romney will adopt the same attitude of candidates heckled by activists--ignore them and make a joke. Though uncomfortable at the moment, the American audience does not like bigotry in any form, and will reject the messenger, just like an anti-African American heckler would repulse people if he or she showed up at a town hall for Senator Obama.

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Dallas: Was there a debate on Pat Robertson when he ran, or did everyone look at him as a fringe type of person so it did not matter?

Hugh Hewitt: Pat Robertson did well in Iowa on an agenda that appealed to social conservatives, many of whom were not fundamentalists. Romney has the same opportunity in the state.

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Savage, Md.: Does Romney support the teaching of either creationism or intelligent design in public school science classes?

Hugh Hewitt: I don't know. I don't recall any such controversies in MA in recent years, but I am aware of the cases in PA and Kansas, so I suspect not.

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Logan, Utah: If people don't think Mitt Romney is in constant communication with the LDS hierarchy, they are extremely naive. The Salt Lake Tribune has run numerous articles detailing the involvement of the Church (as it is referred to here in Utah). It would be the same as if John Kennedy flew to the Vatican numerous times before his campaign to get the backing of the Pope and his mignons. And I should point out that the chief scammers of the Salt Lake Olympics bid were Mormons, i.e. Tom Welch, with the help of prominent lawyers who, among other things, shredded pertinent files of Olympic board meetings (i.e. James S. Jardine). The Church and Romney bailed them out. Just business as usual in this state.

washingtonpost.com: Walsh: Church shows true color -- red (Salt Lake City Tribune, March 29)

Hugh Hewitt: There is zero evidence for that, and I doubt you can produce any but if you have it please send it to me at hugh@hughhewitt.com. Like Kennedy (or Reagan or Clinton or Bush) Romney will no doubt encounter senior LDS officials just as he will run into cardinals and pastors across the country, just as Senator Obama appeared at Rick Warren's church. But you are implying a conspiracy, and that's Bilderburger land. Of course, if you have any proof, you have the political scoop of the year.

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Utah: Where is Romney's money coming from? Is a lot of it from Mormons -- not the church, but from individual Mormons, both wealthy and rank-and-file?

Hugh Hewitt: From 33,000 different contributors. Generalizations are dangerous, but here are some keys.

First, as detailed in my book, Romney's business success is at a level few journalists much less voters understand. His incredible start is owed in large and probably dominant part to his business world contacts and their friends. he spent two decades turning around companies and leaving lots of grateful executives, employees and shareholders in his wake. They know him, like him, and are impressed with his abilities. They wrote checks. They will continue to do so.

You will also see a lot of Mormons giving to Romney, even as the black community of Chicago has rallied around Senator Obama as detailed in today's New York Times, and as Greek Americans rallied to Dukakis in '88.

But here's a key fact: When Romney arrived in Salt Lake to take over the games in the late '90s, they were in desperate straights. The sponsors were gone, the corruption charges kept piling up, the Congress (led by Senator McCain) was very leery of giving any help, and the media was in full battle cry. The Games came very close to being canceled.

Romney turned all that around. There are a lot of grateful --and very impressed-- people in Salt Lake City. They support him and not because he is LDS but because he saved their games and their city's reputation.

Finally, again, as detailed in the book, the "Bain Way" means innovation at every level, and the Romney campaign has been rolling out innovations at every level of the campaign but especially in fundraising.

Did I mention Spencer Zwick? He's called the new Jack Oliver for a reason.

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Arlington, Va.: Hugh, this isn't about your book, but I hope you'll respond anyway, because I'm curious -- often when I hear political criticism, the target of the criticism will wave it off by saying "that's just a liberal talking point," or "that comes from the right-wing blogs," etc. (See, it's bipartisan.) Seems to me this is a way to duck the substance of the question entirely by impugning the messenger. If the point is valid, why should it matter if it also is a partisan talking point? Shouldn't the person respond to the substance rather than resorting to the same tired old ad hominems as always?

Hugh Hewitt: I agree with that unless it is a talking point being raised by the same person for the 10,000th time. Folks do use delay and repetition to obscure and confuse. Example: On the book tour, every liberal host asked me about Romney the flip flopper on abortion although Romney and many others have been asked and have answered the question hundreds of time. Repeating such questions is just a form of agenda journalism. I call things for what they are.

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Baltimore: I know it is very early to tell, but it seems to me that Mr. Romney, despite his accomplishments, is a bit naive when it comes to national politics and perhaps has not put together the most savvy staff. Reversing himself on issues that he took quite strong stands about only a few years back (gay rights, abortion rights, etc.) makes it seem like he has no principles (Garry Trudeau is flogging him like a pinata on that very matter this week in Doonesbury). So, the speech in Florida in which he closed using the same words Castro has used for nearly 50 years to end every speech was absolutely bizarre. To me it just seems that, religious issues aside, Mr. Romney is not yet ready for prime time.

Hugh Hewitt: The Castor quote was a stumble, and he immediately said as much. In the long campaign every candidate will take a pratfall or two (or ten) and each should be instantly ready to say "oops."

But I have to smile at your "naive" comment. Bain Capital is one of the most successful investment firms in history, the Olympics turnaround was genuinely impossible to predict, and getting elected a red governor in a blue state suggests otherwise. As does $20 million in the first quarter.

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Alexandria, Va.: Don't you find it funny that the only Republican presidential nominee that hasn't had multiple wives is the Mormon? Seriously though, how big an issue will marital status/history be for the candidates?

Hugh Hewitt: I don't think marital status is going to be a negative, but Romney's family story is a great positive. The longest chapter in the book is on his father and mother, his wife and his five sons, daughters-in-law and 10 grandkids. They are the Kennedys without the scandals. This is a powerful opinion driver outside of the Beltway, and I expect it to matter. But I also think leadership in the war is the crucial issue of the day, and that's what will separate the first tier from the second, then it is on to judges, the economy, border security and the rest of the agenda.

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New Hampshire: Hi Hugh and thanks for taking my question. I very much appreciate your tenacity in pointing out that bigotry has no place in politics or elections. I personally think that religion should play no part; rather, policies and ideas and character are what matter. I do wonder if you would extend the same inclusivity towards those of Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim faiths?

Hugh Hewitt: Great question: Yes, I do. It isn't "inclusivity" or "exclusivity," it is about what is fair game or not fair game in American politics. We don't ask candidates about their theology or their personal religious practices. We ask them about their character and their competence, and especially on their vision for the country. Jefferson --not my favorite president but thank goodness for the LA purchase and of course the Declaration-- was at best an ambivalent deist. Thomas Paine an atheist of the first rank. They were both patriots. That's where the questions should fall: Where do you see the country headed and how would you lead it?

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Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq: When should Romney start to worry if his support doesn't rise above the 7 percent to 9 percent range, where it's been hovering for months?

Hugh Hewitt: Thanks for your service Green Zone.

I don't expect Romney to get out of the high single or low double digits in the national polls until after Iowa/New Hampshire because that's the nature of the campaign. The electorate knows and admires Rudy Giuliani, and the same is true about Senator McCain, and to a lesser extent Newt and Fred Thompson. The trampoline campaign of Jimmy Carter is the model for Romney --do well in Iowa, use the bounce to add to the base in New Hampshire, and use the resources to do well in South Carolina, Michigan and Florida. I doubt Jimmy Carter was at 1% at this point in 1975. Touting the national polls is like asserting Boise State couldn't possibly have had a great season in 2006 because they weren't ranked highly going in.

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Washington, D.C.: The Mormon Church has been incredibly active politically, including funding the fight against the ERA and any gay rights legislation. If a person running for President was a member of any group that is so actively politically, shouldn't they be asked about it? I think this would be equal to people asking about a candidate's membership in the ACLU and how he/she defends their role. I believe, in fact, that many Republicans have harped on past candidates' membership in such groups, in the ACLU in particular. Why should a religion that is a political player be treated differently from any other political group?

Hugh Hewitt: I think Romney has often been asked about same sex marriage and gay rights and many other issues. Fair game. But I don't ask Harry Reid, a Mormon, about his LDS beliefs, I want to know why he's pulling so hard for defeat in Iraq. Same goes for Romney.

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Coppell, Tex.: If we don't ask them about their beliefs, why the big stink on John Kerry and communion?

Hugh Hewitt: No one should ask Kerry when he goes to Confession or if he thinks Mary appeared at Lourdes, but the "communion controversy" is a Catholic Church internal debate of great interest to Catholics and journalists as it touches on the abortion issue and whether a Catholic in good standing can support abortion rights. If the LDS Church takes a theological position that Romney defies and that costs him his ability to visit a Mormon Temple, that would be news.

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Columbia, Md.: Mr. Hewitt, I found your book very informative. What kind of questions about the nature of their faith would you think acceptable to ask a Scientologist running for office, or a member of a group such as the Branch Davidians, or those Heaven's Gaters (if there were any left)? Why do you suggest that questions about the faith itself are not appropriate for the individual who espouses a particular faith -- don't those questions go directly to the judgment of the individual and what things they actually believe/their worldview. If someone is a part of a faith that believes the alien Xenu had a role in our creation (insert creation story of your choice here) or that Native Americans are descendants of the Hebrew people ... I think it is fair to ask them a little more about those things.

Hugh Hewitt: I interviewed historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham for the book, as well as Democratic operatives like Mike McCurry to make sure my instincts were bipartisan in this area --and they are: We haven't, as a people, asked candidates about theology and their personal religious practices beyond the most general of questions. No matter what a candidate's religion was, I'd ask the religious authorities of that faith believed, and leave the questions about a candidate's faith to issues of policy and character. That's the Article VI test for governmental action, and it ought to be our test for journalism as well.

I also note that people often ask me "What questions are legitimate?" I reply: What questions do you want to ask? I often get silence back because they are embarrassed to pose the questions they know to be argumentative or simply various expressions of Mormon bashing.

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Baltimore: Let me clarify: When I said I believe Mr. Romney may be a bit naive in terms of national politics, I meant that I don't believe he understands that totally reversing positions he took to get elected governor of Massachusetts will look good in a general election when his opponent uses them against him. The key, when you have to tack to win the base, is to do just that -- tack. Not suddenly do a 180 so you can be, quite fairly, accused of breathtaking hypocrisy.

Hugh Hewitt: Well, you should read the book. He didn't "totally reverse" positions. He did what I and millions of other pro-lifers wish millions of other Americans would do. He studied and issue, consulted key experts, and changed his mind and has fully articulated a position I can support. As Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver told me for this book, we need many more Americans to make the same journey. Outside of the abortion issue, there's zero merit to the charge.

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Provo, Utah: We've hear plenty of news articles and surveys asking if people would actually vote for a Mormon. As a member of that church, I have heard plenty of claims the my religion is "weird." How relevant do you think such discussion is in this election, and when do you think it will run out of steam?

Hugh Hewitt: I have heard it as well --one of the three most frequent objections I encountered in the year I spent working on the book.

It won't ever run out of steam because the theological chasm between Mormons on the one side and protestants and Catholics on the other is just too vast for the latter to see the former as other than very, very, very different when it comes to theology.

It is already running out of power to influence votes, however, as more and more Americans shudder at the most virulent expressions of anti-Mormon bigotry that have made it into the public square.

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Arlington, Va.: Hi Hugh -- longtime listener via podcast here. What did you make of the David Kirkpatrick piece in today's L.A. Daily News? Is he ever going to realize Mitt's support has a grassroots feel to it and doesn't just come from rich Mormons?

washingtonpost.com: Should be noted that this headline was written by L.A. Daily News staff, not Kirkpatrick, who works for the New York Times Romney rakes in cash from Mormons (L.A. Daily News, April 2)

Hugh Hewitt: The Romney campaign sent out a quote from the AP's Ron Fournier which I haven't seen in the original yet, but it goes something like "The beltway missed another huge story," and Fourier's right. I saw it coming ands wrote about the Romney network at length in the book, but newsroom types don't get very far off the bus, and rarely allow themselves to get info that hasn't been through the MSM blender. The Romney network is so much bigger than rich Mormons it is laughable. Last week he added the Lindner family in Ohio --not Mormons, of course, but very representative of the finance team he has put together.

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Plano, Tex.: When Bush became president we had an idea that he would run the president like a business, because he was a good businessman. How is Mr. Romney different from that idea, or did 9/11 change everything Bush wanted to do, so its not valid?

Hugh Hewitt: Romney's joint Harvard Law-Harvard MBA degree will spark some comparisons with Bush, but their corporate experiences couldn't be more different. That's the "ain Way" and the reason Chapter Two is titled "Bain-washed not brain-washed."

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Cleveland: If we shouldn't ask candidates about their religious beliefs, is it fair, in your mind, to ask them to refrain from telling us about their religious beliefs?

Hugh Hewitt: No. The vast majority of Americans want the vast middle ground --a person of faith whose character is formed by the understanding that there is a God who is not indifferent to our behavior, but they also draw a big circle around the privacy we expect on such matters.

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Bellingham, Wash.: Seems to me that the only folks complaining about Romney's religion are right-wing Republican Christians. Isn't Romney's Mormon "problem" more about the primary than the general election? I am more concerned with his pandering. I didn't believe him when he said he was liberal to get elected in Mass., and if I was a Republican I wouldn't take him at his word now regarding abortion and gays. I'll take my "patriarchs and homophobes" straight-no-chaser, a la Pat Robertson, thank you very much. After eight years of Bush II, the last thing this country needs is someone who will do and say anything to get elected (and don't get me started on Hillary Clinton...)

Hugh Hewitt: You are wrong. The two extreme attacks on Romney's faith have come from the editor of Slate, Jacob Weinberg, and The New Republic.

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"Pulling so hard for defeat in Iraq": Oh goodness. And that's not agenda journalism? Please stop.

Hugh Hewitt: Clarity is a very useful thing, which is why all three of the leading GOP contenders have characterized Democratic defeatism the same way.

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Baltimore: This is exactly what Mr. Romney said about abortion rights debating Ted Kennedy in 1994, hoping to be elected in Massachusetts: "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time that my mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U.S. Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it. And we should sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice." Funny how much he has "grown" now that he wants the Republican nomination for President. One can find similar quotes about gay rights and gay marriage as well.

Hugh Hewitt: Actually you are completely wrong about gay rights where there is no inconsistency at all between an insistence on the fair treatment of all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation and a robust denunciation of out-of-control courts imposing their vision of the just society without benefit of legislative-executive action.

Romney changed his mind on abortion. Right to lifers applaud. Lefty absolutists on abortion want him defeated and call him a flip flopper as a result. Not very effective with GOP voters.

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Baltimore: Mr. Hewitt: Okay, so a man believes that an angel gave a guy named Joe Smith gold plates and, when Smith was challenged and would not produce them, he actually came up with a hat in which he said the angel's information also was contained, but it was a hat containing writing that only he could read, so he would dictate it and others would take it down. That's Mormonism. And you don't think that's a touch ... weird?

Hugh Hewitt: Do you believe belief in Mary's appearance at Lourdes is weird? Do you believe speaking in tongues is weird? Do you belief in angels?

Lots of Americans believe lots of weird things. Democrats believe raising taxes will help the economy. We should decide debates on the weirdness of beliefs in the public policy arena, not the theological.

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Mechanicsville, Va.: The PBS programs "American Experience" and "Frontline" will combine to do four hours on " The Mormons" April 30 and May 1. Do you think this extensive documentary is related to the Romney candidacy in any way? Based on your experience with PBS, is it likely to be reasonably done?

Hugh Hewitt: No, I don't. The lead time and the way docs get made (I was in the PBS system for a decade) almost guarantees that it is not a result of the Romney candidacy.

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Hugh Hewitt: Thanks all. Any more questions, direct them to me at hughhewitt.com

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