Keller writes:
...when it comes to the religious beliefs of our would-be presidents, we are a little squeamish about probing too aggressively.
I agree. But then Keller says:
I honestly don’t care if Mitt Romney wears Mormon undergarments beneath his Gap skinny jeans, or if he believes that the stories of ancient American prophets were engraved on gold tablets and buried in upstate New York, or that Mormonism’s founding prophet practiced polygamy (which was disavowed by the church in 1890). Every faith has its baggage, and every faith holds beliefs that will seem bizarre to outsiders. I grew up believing that a priest could turn a bread wafer into the actual flesh of Christ.
Well you know what? I do care if Mitt Romney believes in magic underwear, or whether or not the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. (I suspect he doesn't.) And, frankly, I would like to know if a candidate for president believed in transubstantiation. (Although I can't believe even Rick Santorum does. Not really. Not under truth serum.)
I think it's important for the leader of the Free World to be rational. Think about it: would you really want someone like Michele Bachmann to have access to the nuclear codes?
So why can't a Mitt Romney just come out and say, "Look, I was born into a Mormon family. I didn't choose this religion. One of my ancestors bought into this stuff a long time ago and it just stuck. But, hey, I went to Harvard, remember? I worked at Bain Capital. Of course I don't believe any of this nonsense. It's just a family tradition; our culture -- like having a Christmas tree every December or having an Easter egg hunt for the kids in the spring. But don't worry; if I'm elected president, I'll use reason, backed up by evidence, to guide my decisions in the White House."
Is that too much to ask?
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