Obama to meet with LDS President

[DavyCrocket2003]

Hey, ran across this in the news: Obama to meet with Monson. There were some pretty strong reactions. Just thought it was interesting. It's nice to see Obama reaching out.

 

[rojse]

Just out of interest, how large is the Mormon population in comparison to the wider US population?

 

[Buttons*]

That's really cool. Especially since most LDS didn't vote for Obama lol

 

[Humanistheart]

I wonder what, if any, purpose there is in this meeting?

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

I wonder what, if any, purpose there is in this meeting?

I don't know, the Church said it's mostly a courtesy visit. I can't imagine what other reasons there might be.

 

[Watchmen]

My understanding is Michele Obama visited LDS leadership during the campaign.

No visit from McCain.

So, the Obama's have already reached out. Obama was also the first Dem candidate in years and years and years to have a campaign office in Utah.

 

[Watchmen]

I think it's interesting they consider Romney the leading GOP candidate for 2012. I think that's a bit of a stretch at this point. I think the powers that be behind the GOP will never throw their full weight behind Romney because he is a Mormon, which will divide the fundamentalists.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

Just out of interest, how large is the Mormon population in comparison to the wider US population?

According to mormonwiki.com there were 5,779,318 members in the US in 2006. That means we probably make up around 2% of the population. For being so small, it sure does a lot of good though. It has a huge humanitarian program. For more about that check out this article: Humamitarian_Efforts

 

[rojse]

According to mormonwiki.com there were 5,779,318 members in the US in 2006. That means we probably make up around 2% of the population.

In the opinion of this particular cynic, having the support of two percent of the population can make a large difference to a political campaign.

 

[Humanistheart]

I think it's interesting they consider Romney the leading GOP candidate for 2012. I think that's a bit of a stretch at this point. I think the powers that be behind the GOP will never throw their full weight behind Romney because he is a Mormon, which will divide the fundamentalists.

I would tend to agree.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

Well, they met. And it looks like President Monson presented Obama with his family history, five volumes worth of it. Wow, that's a lot. Heres a link.

 

[J Bryson]

That's excellent. Although I do suspect that there are cynical reasons behind the visit, it's still nice to see the attempt at outreach.

 

[DadBurnett]

Hey, ran across this in the news: Obama to meet with Monson. There were some pretty strong reactions. Just thought it was interesting. It's nice to see Obama reaching out.

He's going to meet with Pres. Monson -so what? He met with the Pope, why not Monson? Many of our past presidents have met with LDS presidents, just as many of them have met with Billy Graham. Strong reactions to such meetings seem a bit ridiculous ...

 

[Katzpur]

That's excellent. Although I do suspect that there are cynical reasons behind the visit, it's still nice to see the attempt at outreach.

Uh, cynical? Why cynical?

 

[J Bryson]

Uh, cynical? Why cynical?

It's part of the 50 state strategy that Obama used last time around to such great effect. Notice how the article mentioned that unlike previous Democratic presidential contenders, he opened up a campaign office in Utah during the last election? It wasn't because he thought that he'd win the state. He just wanted to make sure that the GOP had to spend their increasingly scant resources on ad buys there. Now he's keeping it in play, making nice with a traditionally conservative community in a manner unusual for a Democratic President, and generally frustrating an already-tumultuous Republican party on what they consider to be their home turf. This will mean that come the midterm elections, the GOP will once again have to funnel money into a traditionally "safe" state in order to counteract his positive relationship with the LDS church.

 

[Watchmen]

To be fair, the LDS president has delivered a new president's geneaology that last few to several times (or so I've heard). So, sure, there's the cynical view, but there's also the reality that this is a meeting that happens regardless.

 

[Katzpur]

It's part of the 50 state strategy that Obama used last time around to such great effect. Notice how the article mentioned that unlike previous Democratic presidential contenders, he opened up a campaign office in Utah during the last election? It wasn't because he thought that he'd win the state. He just wanted to make sure that the GOP had to spend their increasingly scant resources on ad buys there. Now he's keeping it in play, making nice with a traditionally conservative community in a manner unusual for a Democratic President, and generally frustrating an already-tumultuous Republican party on what they consider to be their home turf. This will mean that come the midterm elections, the GOP will once again have to funnel money into a traditionally "safe" state in order to counteract his positive relationship with the LDS church.

I figured that's what you were getting at. I probably just wouldn't have used the word "cynical," but I guess it works. The Church also gave Bush and Clinton copies of their family histories. I think it's more just a nice gesture than anything else. I can't imagine that they could possibly have expected their visit to accomplish much more than just extend good feelings.

 

[J Bryson]

I wasn't aware of the previous visits. However, I suspect that with Romney still out there, Obama will be careful to maintain good relations with the church.

 

[Katzpur]

I wasn't aware of the previous visits. However, I suspect that with Romney still out there, Obama will be careful to maintain good relations with the church.

I personally think that Jon Huntsman (the soon-to-be-confirmed Ambassador to China) would make a much better president than Romney, for a number of reasons. It's been said that he might have been interested in the top office but couldn't possibly run against the man who gave him his new appointment, though. I even read some lame article stating that Obama appointed him so that he wouldn't have to deal with him as a possible opponent in 2012. Now that's dumb. That's truly dumb.

 

[rojse]

I personally think that Jon Huntsman (the soon-to-be-confirmed Ambassador to China) would make a much better president than Romney, for a number of reasons. It's been said that he might have been interested in the top office but couldn't possibly run against the man who gave him his new appointment, though. I even read some lame article stating that Obama appointed him so that he wouldn't have to deal with him as a possible opponent in 2012. Now that's dumb. That's truly dumb.

Why is that dumb, Katzpur? It seems to me like an excellent move - Obama can utilise the skills and talents of Jon Huntsman, and it could well undermine Huntsman's credibility should he decide to run for President as a Republican, having worked for the Democrats. And if Huntsman decides to run for President while he is a diplomat, he could well be accused of neglecting his job.