This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Last spring, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch predicted that President Barack Obama and the liberal press would play the Mormon card and use Mitt Romney's religion to defeat him. "You watch, they're going to throw the Mormon church at him like you can't believe," Hatch told a town hall meeting in Davis County.

As it turns out, the subject of religion was hardly discussed by the press. When it was, it was usually positive toward The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Romney lost the election on his own; Mormon-bashing was not a reason. It was mostly due to Romney's shift to the extreme right to gather tea party support during the Republican primaries and his comment writing off 47 percent of the population. Romney's words came back to haunt him in the fall campaign.

Ironically, the one who ended up playing the Mormon card was Hatch himself. Shame on you, Sen. Hatch.

Richard Stone

Salt Lake City