"The Romney issue begs a question:"

I take it the "issue" is the fact that he is a Mormon and not the stuff I was posting just to be silly.

"How many people really go against the faith taught them by their family, particularly if their family is more or less unified on the subject?"

I could not say with any certainty but I would say the number is probably higher in the Western world.

"I'd be willing to guess that in those scenarios, for nearly all religions worldwide, the percentage is very low."

I don't think we can really do a worldwide comparison because the differences are so dramatic. We still live in a world where there are many places that if you don't go with whatever the prevailing religion is you are a dead person.

"One could argue that Romney (and many others) are almost trapped in a paradigm created for them."

That seems to describe life in general pretty well.

"The bigger question is, of course, does coming from a different religion affect ones executive or legislative decisions to the point that they are untrustworthy to those who don't share a similar background?"

I would say, based on current events, that we live in a world where people certainly believe that your faith plays a big part in how you govern. There is that bit about separation of church and state. Oil and water if you will, at least in terms of what we supposedly think of as democracy.

"In the case of Romney, I'd assume not but rather that there are more concrete political positions that are not favored by many on this board."

I don't find much to like about Mitt, that's true, and I really don't care that he is a Mormon.

"I actually admire his business success and his outcomes in the SLC Olympics"

These were big selling points when they whisked him into Massachusetts as they banished Jane Swift to the wild western portion of the state. It was basically Romney was the big prospect on the RNC farm team and Swift was a lifetime minor leaguer sent packing. Those RNC guys do develop their potential superstar candidates with some panache.

"and as governor of Massachusetts."

I'd rethink that part if I were you.

"But I've heard way too many dimwitted comments (chief among them: "I'd double the size of Guantanamo") to consider him for the highest office. That kind of ridiculous pandering makes him automatically disqualified in my book."

He is quite honestly a walking bullshit factory and will say anything to anybody. I think you've hit the nail on the head as his full name is really Mitt Pander Romney...can we pull the chain and flush him now or must he continue to float in the bowl?