How much of the undeniable queasiness that Republican voters have towards Mitt Romney has to do with the incredible nature of his political transformation, and how much has to do with his Mormonism? Is it possible that the queasiness induced by the one in some way has amplified the queasiness induced by the other, and induced the critical queasy mass that has sunk his candidacy? Perhaps it’s too early for post-mortems, on the very day of the Super-Tuesday elections, but I’m wondering all this after reading a column in the Asia Times by Spengler –as hard-hitting a look at the Mormon question as I’ve seen during this election season: Yes, Romney, There’s A Sanity Clause.

Mitt Romney’s presidential candidacy has put the Mormon issue back on the public agenda. The former Massachusetts governor reminded voters on December 6 that America’s constitution prohibits a religious test, and asked to be judged independently of his Mormon faith. But as Groucho told Chico in A Night At the Opera, there nonetheless is a Sanity Clause. Voters may reject a candidate whose religious views are crazy, for example, someone who thinks he talks to God. Does Romney believe that he himself will become God, as Mormon doctrine teaches?

Americans express disquiet about Romney’s religion; 27% of respondents to the 2007 Pew Center poll held an unfavorable view of Mormons, about the same as of American Muslims (29%), against only 9% for Jews and 14% for Catholics. These numbers suggest that Americans are not as dumb as they look.

Just what is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly called the Mormons? Joseph Smith Jr, the forger, treasure-hunter, magician, polygamist and self-styled priest-king of the American continent, invented an American version of Europe’s ethnically-founded idolatry. Each European tribe that rebelled against Christianity styled itself the Chosen People. Smith concocted a tale in which Americans actually were the Chosen People, and America was the Promised Land of the ancient Hebrews and Jesus Christ. In short, Smith took to the extremes of fantasy and forgery an impulse towards national self-worship that always lurks somewhere in American Christianity.

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Another note on the election: I had predicted that under what appear to be the current circumstances — Barack surging in the polls towards Super-Tuesday — that something bad would drop on him, released in one way or another from the Clinton campaign. I was wrong, clearly. The Clinton campaign has instead been almost unbelievably reluctant to criticize Obama, ever since the backlash against Bill’s efforts to pigeonhole him as the black candidate in South Carolina. I’m honestly surprised. Maybe I’ve just had the Clintons wrong. Of-course, before I get too contrite, it has to be remembered that Super-Tuesday is highly unlikely to be the end of the Democratic race.

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