<p>See this long article in last week's Weekly Standard, by Terry Eastland:</p>
<p>"In 2008, Will it be Mormon in America?"</p>
<p>"Terry Eastland's 6,000-word piece in the current Weekly Standard is introduced by a humorous cover illustration of a smiling Romney surrounded by donkeys. ''Mitt Romney of Massachusetts," it says. ''Can a Republican governor of a Democratic state become America's first Mormon president?" Eastland's conclusion: Quite possibly. ''Romney would make an appealing candidate," he writes. ''He just might be 'the right guy at the right time.' "</p>
<p>So I see you found a political hack who is just as naive and delusional as you... ahh yes... The Weekly Standard... right up there with FAUX News, Rush, Coulter, Hannity, O'Reilly and the rest of the conservative echo chamber.</p>
<p>For a Republican presidential hopeful, it was better than appearing on the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week. Mitt Romney, the (Republican) governor of (mostly Democratic) Massachusetts, was a June cover boy for the two leading conservative magazines, National Review and the Weekly Standard.</p>
<p>National Review's June 20 issue shows a smiling Romney at the foot of a marble staircase. "Matinee Mitt" is the cover line. "Charming. Smart. Conservative." The article concludes that Romney "deserves a fair hearing" from conservatives. "They may come to like the guy." It continues: "Romney looks like he could play quarterback -- he's tall and trim -- except that he's not nearly mean enough for the gridiron. The man exudes niceness, which is one of the qualities that make him an unusually good retail politician."</p>
<p>By the way... just wanted to note that I do think there are some PRINCIPLED conservatives out there who I respect: former Gov. Bill Weld comes to mind... but then, the GOP back-stabbed him for not being anti-gay.</p>
<p>Byerly said: "Bill Weld is no Conservative."</p>
<p>Byerly,</p>
<p>Yes, we all know that the GOP claims of being a "big-tent" are bullshhhhh... if you're not anti-gay, they'll push you out like they did to Bill Weld. Bill Weld IS a principled conservative in the classical sense... not like the big-spending, theocratic hypocrites like Bush, Frist, DeLay, Lott, etc. Romney is the worst kind of politician... narcissistic pretty-boy with absolutely no depth...</p>
<p>My heartfelt apologies. It distresses me that I have done wrong by the English language. Would that I were a better multitasker! (I was, quite ironically, reading Mr. Saffire's wonderful column in the NYTimes magazine).</p>
<p>This isn't surprising. There haven't been many candidates for president in recent years possessing any real intelligence; John Kerry, George Bush, and Al Gore are all complete mediocrities. Bill Clinton was an intellectually gifted individual, but certainly had his own flaws. Other than that... when I watched the 2000 and 2004 debates, I was continually depressed by the realization that in the most important contest of our times, all our nation could muster were two incoherent sycophants (not to mention extremely poor debaters).</p>