COLUMN: 01-16-2008

Former Governor Mitt Romney's victory in the Michigan Republican primary sadly shows that many voters continue to vote based on an emotional response rather than based on a sound judgment of the qualifications of each candidate. Although he has been shown to have no real support in states where he was weighed equally against his competitors, his father's long shadow in Michigan carried the day for him yesterday. He will likely be similarly victorious in Nevada, Utah, and other states with a large Mormon population. However, he will not ultimately win because he has shown that he will sway to any position that he thinks will win him an election and because Americans are not yet ready to support a Mormon president.