I once thought George Allen could be the man. . . and I still might be convinced of this. However, of late I have worried that he is not, well, quick on his intellectual feet.
I am open to Sam Brownback or Mike Huckabee, though the first has a name like a gay cowboy film and the second like a bad comedy (I heart the Huckabee!). It is hard to think of any of them overcoming the “He does not sound like a President” test. But perhaps, I underestimate the American voter.
Against my inclinations, I am growing ever fonder of Mitt Romney. He has great experience, good geography and lately has been making strong stands in the culture war. He is no secularist which is key in our three way civil war for the hearts and minds of the globe (dying European secularism vs Islam vs Christianity). He is very, very smart. . . which will be important for the next Republican nominee.
I think the question of whether mainstream Americans will vote for a Mormon is an odd one. The President is not our pastor or our chief theologian. I do not have to moderate my theological differences with Mormonism one iota to vote for Romney. These differences are great and are not getting smaller. At the same time, I have shared common cultural cause in intellectual arenas with Mormons. . . for example at a conference at Cornell University. . . and did not feel my religious commitments shrinking as a result. Part of growing up mentally is learning to agree where you can and disagree where you really do.
So I am becoming intrigued by Romney and wondering about Allen.
One test for me is how well any candidate actually understands Red State voters and the next generation (home schooled/Christian schooled/Bible Club public school) of conservative, Evangelical voters.
Will they keep talking to yesterday’s leaders or will they look for thriving centers of traditional Christian thought and see how their message plays? Will any of the contenders of either party be savvy enough to contact a program like Torrey Honors at Biola and try to come to one of the intellectual centers of the Red State voters?
Clinton could test her outreach program and see how it does. If she cannot open the minds of these Socratically trained students, she can forget the border states. Allen could come and demonstrate with an open microphone that he can take the tough question. Believe me no debate question will be tougher than those devised by THI students! Brownback and Huckabee could show they can escape the “he cannot win” test by wowing the toughest audience on earth: post-ipod college students jaded with edutainment and looking for the Right Stuff.
For Romney such an experience could be critical as he would face a huge pool of culturally savvy Pacific rim honor students who are fiercely Evangelical and at the forefront of the Mormon-Evangelical dialogue. (Torrey recently ran an entire class around such dialogue that involved listening as well as sharing their own points of view to Mormon leaders. . . reading primary Mormon texts.) Could he sell such a crowd? If so, then this might be his Kennedy in West Virginia moment. I wonder if he will have the sense to come.
Will Mitt Romney know to give Torrey a call?