Romney Always Follows the Rules--Except When He Doesn't

On Sunday, the New York Times included a lengthy article on how Mitt Romney has been formed by his Mormon faith.  It explained how Mr. Romney always follows his church's tenets to the letter in both his religious and personal life and how, as a church official, he was always willing to help show other church members how to do the same.

what eye thynk:  This is a ho-hum article for the most part, except for one section that made me wonder about his willingness to bend church beliefs when it comes to his own family and how he would apply that same moral ambiguity to the Presidency. 

When Mr. Romney was a church bishop in the Boston area, a couple came to him for guidance.  They had tried and were unable to have a child of their own and wanted to adopt.  Their problem was that they both worked and felt they needed both incomes to provide a comfortable life for a family.  At that time, the Mormon church did not allow adoptions if the mother worked outside the home.  (They have since relaxed this rule.)  Mr. Romney, exhibiting an admirable degree of stick-to-the-rules helpfulness,  went through the couple's budget showing them where they could cut expenses that would allow the wife to quit her job thus earning the church's approval for adoption.   (Unless, of course, you are a woman who wants a career AND a family--but that's another subject.)

Skip ahead to a more contemporary example of Mr. Romney and church rules.  Currently, the Mormon church "strongly discourages" surrogacy; however, his son Tagg Romney and his wife have not only chosen to ignore the Mormon church tenet against surrogacy, they have chosen to ignore it twice.  They have one son born through surrogacy in 2010 and on May 4 welcomed twin boys born through the same surrogate mother.  Mitt's pride in his growing tribe of grandchildren doesn't seem to find any fault with the obvious double standard and, despite church rules that say using surrogacy can result in punishment, none has ever been applied to Tagg and his family.

I realize that Tagg is not running for President and his family choices are his own.  Actually, I'm happy for him if he is getting the family he wants.  It just bothers me that the Romney who IS running for President would be so strict when applying rules to one family situation while ignoring similar rule breaking within his own.

This is a personal, and telling, example of Mitt Romney's Etch-a-Sketch character.  His ability to change sides on any political issue when that change facilitates his campaign is just another representation of moral ambiguity...and morals shouldn't be ambiguous.  The way he can so easily be moved from one position on any topic to a completely different position on the same topic in order to gain the desired result--whether that result be grandchildren or the Presidency--doesn't read like probity to me.  It reads like entitlement.