Mitt Romney is facing a withering attack for his alleged statement that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet.
Mansoor Ijaz, wrote an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor that detailed his attendance of a private fund-raiser this month for Romney in Las Vegas. Ijaz says he asked Romney whether he would consider a Muslim for a national security post in his Cabinet and according to Ijaz, Romney said that based on the proportion of Muslims in the US population, a Cabinet post would not be “justified,” though he could “imagine” Muslims serving in lower-level jobs in his administration.
“Romney, whose Mormon faith has become the subject of heated debate in Republican caucuses, wants America to be blind to his religious beliefs and judge him on merit instead, . . . Yet he seems to accept excluding Muslims because of their religion, claiming they’re too much of a minority for a post in high-level policymaking. More ironic, that Islamic heritage is what qualifies them to best engage America’s Arab and Muslim communities and to help deter Islamist threats.”
Romney denies the statement. However, it is part of a larger role of religion in presidential politics with both Democrats and Republicans fighting for the religious vote. Democrats are trying to close the God-gap with Republicans while Republicans are vying for votes of evangelicals.
For a prior column, click here
For the controversy, click here
If true, all that can be said is that Governor Romney is showing some tiredness from the incessant campaigning.
Given the logic however, it is not clear that Romney’s own Mormon religion might not disqualify him from the Presidency, since Mormons probably make up less than 5% of the population and some kind of proportionality test is being applied.