God Bless Toledo

Here's some food for thought on this utterly Mitt-less news day. This is a 1999 column by Jonathan Rauch (subscription required) from National Journal (no word yet on how he made the transition from political observer to Washington Nationals' pitcher) talking about how presidents have invoked God in their speeches and campaigns, from an atheist's point of view. One conclusion he draws is that "in public life, God's name is ubiquitous but his influence is nil." It's interesting in light of how George W. Bush has taken talking about God to a whole new level.

What could this mean for a Mitt Romney presidency? Rauch argues that level of devotion and mentioning God in speeches have an inverse relationship -- Jimmy Carter never mentioned God while Bill Clinton failed to "God Bless" at the end of only one State of the Union address. I'm not so sure how that argument holds up, but it would be interesting to see how Mitt would do it.