Crosby Quoted in Washington Times Regarding Mitt Romney's Faith and His 2008 Presidential Campaign

From the Washington Time's Website - Ben Crosby's quotes:

 Ben Crosby, an Iowa State University professor who has studied how former Massachussetts governor Romney handled his faith during the 2008 campaign, told The Washington Times that Mr. Romney’s Mormon roots “absolutely” put him at odds with much of the evangelical Christian community, which plays a key role in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses and can make or break a candidate in the South Carolina Republican primary. “Mormonism represents for evangelical conservatives a breaking of a particular order, a breaking of tradition, a breaking with convention,” Mr. Crosby said, noting how Mr. Romney sank large sums of time and money into the 2008 Iowa caucuses only to lose to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher.

”That’s probably why Romney is not putting a big investment in Iowa this time because I think he knows at the ground level that those prejudices don’t change after four years,” he said. “I think Romney can win the nomination, but he will have to do it by jumping over major hurdles that other people simply wouldn’t have to jump over.” Whatever the case, Mr. Crosby credits Mr. Romney with embracing, rather than running away from, his Mormon roots. That steadfastness, he says, may not pay off with a victory in the 2012 election, but it has helped erase some of the misguided notions about his religion.

“I see the potential success here is in a broader, longer perspective,” he said. “Within a decade or two, it will be a nonissue to have a Mormon running for president.”

The entire article may be found at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/2/its-official-romney-announces-2012/