Too early for 2012 politics? How about the Mormon candidate, Romney?

I voted for Mitt Romney in the Georgia primary in 2008 and McCain in the general election...and don't apologize for it.

Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Romney pretty much divided the Georgia primary votes into about a third each (about 34%, 32% & 30% respectively) although Huckabee ending up with about 70% of the delegates. Huckabee didn't have a chance of getting the Republican nomination much less of beating Obama. McCain was an extremely weak candidate. Romney would have done much better, I think.

But that was last election.

How about this headline: Christian Backs Mitt Romney; Says Mormonism Doesn't Matter

Hmmm. Imagine that.

It is a long time until the Georgia Republican primary which will be held sometime between January and June of next year, our state Republican brain trust preferring to wait and read the political tea leaves before committing to a specific date. Romney will be on the ballot unless something happens and he drops out.

While it is too early to know the full list of choices for our primary ballot next year, we have a number of declared candidates: Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Gary Johnson and some fringe folks.

I agree with commentator Charles Krauthammer that Ron Paul doesn't offer a philosophy that is suitable for governing and is a fringe figure. Herman Cain is catching on. He is pure dynamite and I like him but he has no chance. Unlike some of my colleagues, I would have no problem voting for Gingrich. If highminded Baptist preachers found it expedient to vote for John McCain with his past moral failures, I don't see how they can object to Gingrich. The others I just don't know much about.

Romney is serious, intelligent, experienced, and presidential. He has all the moral qualifications that some of the brethren say are important.

Ah, but he is LDS whisper, or shout, some of the brethren.

And?

While some of my SBC friends see that as an absolute disqualifying factor, I don't. In fact, those who say that they would vote for Romney if he just weren't a Mormon might look up the definition of religious bigotry. I bet that most of us would find a way to vote for Mitt Romney over Barack Obama, Mormonism or not.

The fun starts about now and goes until November 6, 2012.

Cheatin', singin', fussin' and fumin'...

Analysis of Atlanta area public schools standardized tests shows that erasures of answers is down from about 10% last year to around 3% this year. What happened? Eraser shortage? Smarter, more confident student test takers? Nope. They caught teachers and administrators doing most of the erasing last year, cheating on the tests. Teachers aren’t cheating this year.

Auburn University paid about $170,000 in lawyer fees over their star quarterback Cam Newton’s case. Pooh! Chump change to get a national championship. Money talks, and often ethics walks, in big time college football.

File this under Go Figure: An Atlanta woman driving a car with an handicap tag was fussed at for parking in a regular grocery store parking space. She was told she shouldn’t take up a regular space if she was handicapped.

Wanted: Someone to sing our National Anthem. Must know the words, be willing to sing and be done with it in a reasonable amount of time and then sit down and shut up. Singers whose style declares that ‘it’s all about me’ need not apply.

The state of Mississippi is considering a commemorative tag for one of the Civil War’s outstanding Confederate generals, Nathan Bedford Forrest. Oh yeah, Forrest was connected with the Ku Klux Klan. Opponents suggest that a tag be designed with a hooded figure in the center. This ought to be fun.

President Obama has stopped smoking. Good for him. I guess this means, though, that he will never be one of those Baptist men who stand just outside the door of a SBC church and make churchgoers pass through a cloud of smoke to get inside.

Have a nice weekend.