The death of Mormon church President Gordon Hinckley renews attention on Mitt Romney's little-known religion -- yet rather than being reticent to discuss it, he's making a public embrace that shows some shifting political attitudes.
Two months ago, questions about Mormonism had grown so distracting that Romney went to the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas to outline his views about politics and religion in US history and today's society. Even then, he uttered the word ``Mormon'' only once during his speech.
Two months later, with some state wins behind him -- and evangelicals less of a force in more populous states -- the former Massachusetts governor has focused on the country's ailing economy and his business background, which he argues makes him the most qualified to occupy the White House.
The death of Hinckley, and Romney's decision to attend his funeral today, underscores his connection to and stature within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at a pivotal time for him: He is reaching out to conservatives for their support after a series of high-profile wins and endorsements have boosted rival John McCain's campaign.
The difference now is that Romney approaches both his ongoing campaign and the funeral rites with less tension over his religion. Contests in Iowa and South Carolina, which both have significant evangelical voting blocs, are behind him.
The change was evident in the first public comments Romney made after learning of Hinckley's death on Sunday at age 97.
On Monday in Florida, little more than an hour after Romney was told Hinckley had died, he expressed his admiration for his religion's equivalent of the Pope. Romney also smiled at their personal interactions, and used his position as a prominent church member to pay tribute to the leader of his faith.
Then, Romney went deeper.
The candidate reflected on Hinckley's efforts to expand church membership to about 13 million, to cultivate ties with mainstream reporters and to bridge any gulf with government leaders.
Such acts, Romney said, "distinguish him as one of the great leaders in our faith, and his effort to reach out across the world and to faraway lands and to build temples for our church is something which will also give him a legacy which will last many, many years indeed, and we will miss his leadership."
Still, there are concerns about a Mormon president among some Republicans.
An AP-Yahoo News poll shows that Romney has had very little success gaining the support of Republicans who have long-standing reservations about the idea of voting for a Mormon candidate. That group of Republicans represents half the party, and Romney trails McCain and Huckabee by 20 points each with those voters. Romney has made some gains with the other half of the party who felt more comfortable with the idea of voting for a Mormon, and now leads McCain among them.
That is not to say Mormons have not been an active force behind Romney's campaign.
Numerous church members are volunteering on his staff, busloads traveled from southern California and Utah to Nevada before the latter state's caucuses, and their impact is expected to be especially important in the 21 Republican contests on Tuesday, when large Mormon populations go to vote in Arizona, California and Utah -- all among the top targets for Romney's campaign.
Their strength in the West was evident in Romney's Nevada win: He got 95 percent of the votes of Mormons, in a contest where they comprised 25 percent of the overall turnout.
Romney's attendance at Hinckley's service will give further exposure to their shared faith, but many of those who tune in may be surprised by how similar things look to funeral rites they've witnessed in their own faith.
Hinckley will be buried in traditional all-white Mormon funeral clothes, but the rest of the service will be conducted by officials dressed in the same business suits seen on Easter or Christmas in Christian houses of worship.
And there will be eulogy-like tributes from family members and friends, as well as singing.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of