Politics: Would the Protestant South vote for a Mormon?

Jokes like "I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman... and a woman... and a woman..." probably aren't helping his chances.

[E]even if he ditches the cheesy jokes and learns to play it cool when he has an ecumenical moment, he'll never be able to offer Mormonism the defense it deserves. The LDS Church seems strange because it's new, which makes the human agency behind it especially palpable. In contrast, the passage of time has given the weirder aspects of other faiths a patina of sanctity. In a perfect world, Romney could point this out to any and all anti-Mormon voters, perhaps using some lighthearted religious banter to drive the point home: So, are you Catholics still praying to little bits of saints' bodies, or what? But now that Romney's a social conservative with national aspirations, such a move would be political suicide. Compared to Mitt, JFK had it easy.

I certainly cannot imagine a Baptist voting for a mormon over any other person, even a pro-choice democrat. Especially not after the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in SLC a few years ago, decrying Mormons for converting their flock.

I guess given the current president, even Romney is looking like a progressive dream. Are we looking at a Massachussetts conservative vs a moderate Southern democrat election? I've documented well that I think Romney is a douche-bag in his own right, but his affiliation with LDS is certainly not an aspect of his douchery. I'll be interested to see the eventual FoxNews spin on Romney as 2008 approaches.