Mitt Romney for President?

http://www.mittromney.com/

Let me start this off by saying, no, I am not LDS. But, there are a lot of close friends who are or used to be.

There are some generalizations I think I can make about Orange County Mormons. I don't know about anywhere else, nor especially Utah, at least not firsthand (my friends tell me stories). With that said, I know Romney grew up in Michigan, so he didn't have the Utah Mormon experience either. However, there are some commonalities between him and many Mormons I know:

1. He went to BYU undergrad (he actually was at Stanford first, but transferred after his mission...which brings me to:

2. He went on a mission (to France)

3. He got married soon after returning from his mission

4. He is an active member of the LDS church, and he has said that he doesn't drink, smoke, or drink coffee or tea

Here are some differences between him and many Mormons:

1. He didn't start at BYU, he went to Stanford first, and then transferred, probably so he could be near his girlfriend. (sigh...if he were a Stanford alum, I probably would consider voting Republican this time around, we need someone other than Herbert Hoover...lol)

2. His wife was not raised Mormon, she converted after they had started dating

3. He didn't grow up in Utah.

So I've been asking myself whether I would be ok with having a President who is Mormon, but after looking at this, I've realized that it isn't the question I should be asking. I should be asking,

"Am I ok with the fact that Mitt Romney is Mormon, and would I vote for him knowing that fact."

A few caviats:

1. It is unlikely that I will vote for a Republican in the 2008 general election.

2. I genuinely believe that religion is different from race or gender, because of the behaviors that go along with faith. I think President Bush has frequently made decisions with the help of his faith during his Presidency, and I'd expect any person of faith to do the same in that position. Gender and Race also come with behavioral generalizations, but I think they are easier to see with a specific religion such as LDS than they are for genetic traits.

Anyway, I will continue thinking about this, these are just preliminary thoughts, and would appreciate any comments/opinions/etc.